Hell Hath No Fury
by TheNotSoNiceLibrarian
Summary: Nothing is as it seems. Young men are disappearing around Tokyo and no one knows how or why. They simply vanish. By request, the Reiki team is charged with looking into the disappearance of one certain young man. Their investigation leads them to seek assistance from an unlikely source... and a choice they would rather not make...(Not part of the Call of the Dragon Arc)
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own IY or YYH.

A/N: Just in case you're wondering... this is NOT - repeat is NOT- part of my Call of the Dragon Arc. This is a story that bite me on the a$$ the other day and is refusing to leave me alone. So, I'm writing it. I have no real idea where the heck it's going; I'm at the mercy of my muse for however long she decides she wants to play with me.

Hell Hath No Fury

Prologue

When she thought of ancient battles between good and evil she always pictured torrential rain, bone rattling thunder and flashing lightning... not bright blue skies, sweet smelling air and brilliant sunshine. Yet, it was only fitting that they clashed with the vile Naraku on such a day; destroying the sweet innocence of such beauty with violence, blood and miasma.

It was almost anticlimactic; Nataku's death. They had been fighting him so long and had him revive so many times... it was hard to believe it was over. Yet, as she walked over to pick up the tainted jewel; no tentacles came flying toward her, no dance of blades, no miasma... She picked up the black marble-like jewel, her touch instantly purifying the bobble to an iridescent pink.

It was over. She had always hoped for this day... yet never thought it would come. What did they do now? So many had died...

She stood, starring at the innocent looking bobble in her palm as her friends and allies came to form a circle around her. Every last one of them battered and covered in blood.

"What now?" She asked, chocolate orbs meeting each of her ally's gazes in turn.

Suddenly the sky darkened and grew heavy. Lightning flashed; blinding them.

"You will hand over the Shikon no Tama to us", a pompous voice spoke from the gloom. There, where no one had stood moments before, was a young man in blue robes, dark hair and sucking on a pacifier of all things. Beside him stood a young women with blue hair dressed in pink robes, an oar in her hand.

"Who the fuck are you?" Inuyasha snarled, placing himself between his friend and this new threat.

"I am Koenma, Ruler of Reiki, son of Enma;" the stranger said, "it is by his decree that the jewel be removed from this plane, so it will never be used for evil again."

Their group was silent; only one person could make that decision; the guardian of the Shikon no Tama.

She stood regarding the being that claimed he was a demigod. Many had claimed the title over the years; yet all had been proven false.

"This Enma seeks the power of the jewel?" The cold analytical voice of the stoic inu-lord asked. The stranger regarded him quietly;

"Enma has no need for such a thing." He replied.

_Liar _The voice whispered thru her mind.

Her gaze narrowed. "You lie." She said, her words causing her companions to fall into fighting stances.

The demi-god sighed. He had hoped that there wouldn't be a fight but he had expected one.

"The jewel will be safe priestess;" he said, "regardless of what my father intends to do with it."

"No." She said; warm chocolate eyes turning to ice as warning bells went off in her head.

"That wasn't a request,' he said. "If we must, we will take it by force."

Suddenly they were surrounded by entities of death. She glanced at her companions and saw the same hard determination in their eyes.

"Over my dead body," Inuyasha snarled.

So be it".

The battle was fierce and once sided. They were out-numbered. One by one her friends fell; leaving her alone. Suddenly the demigod was in front of her.

"The jewel please" he said. She glared at him; the cursed jewel clutched to her breast.

"Never," she hissed; mind frantically searching for a way out. Her friends... gone. There had to be a way. She wished with all her might that there was a way to prevent them from taking the jewel. Nothing good would come from their possession of the artifact. Suddenly, hearing her unspoken wish... the jewel flared to life; swallowing the entire clearing in a brilliant pink glow.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Don't own IY or YYH

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 1:

"Mind telling us why the hell we are here?" Yusuke Urameshi growled; his arms crossed over his chest. He sent a dark glare toward the toddler-god who was busy stamping papers on his desk.

"Patience, Yusuke," Koenma replied, putting the final stamp across some documents. "There finished." He muttered, putting the paperwork carefully into the 'done' pile. There was a low growl from across the room; ever since Keiko and Yusuke had split, the Mazoku was even more temperamental and volatile than usual.

"With the exception of the fox," Hiei's cold hard voice cut through the room, "Patience is not a virtue any of this team possesses…."

Koenma swallowed hard as cold red eyes regarded him with the same sort of distain that one might view a bug crawling across the floor. Behind the irritated fire demon; cool emerald eyes regarded him with indifference. Neither was thrilled to be pulled from what they had been doing.

"Any time baby-breath…" Yusuke growled.

Koenma sighed; "There have been several strange disappearances," the demi-god stated; turning to flick on the screen adjacent to him.

Images of several human males ranging in age from teenager to thirty appeared on the screen; all were exceedingly handsome by society standards.

"These humans have all disappeared," Koenma stated; "Last that was heard of them, they left for dates and no one ever heard from them again."

"Tragic," Yusuke stated, "Why is Reiki getting involved in a missing person's case? Shouldn't the police be handling this?"

"They are," Koenma said, "Unfortunately, this man….Arik Hunter," An image flashed up on the screen of a handsome young man in his late twenties with blonde hair and sea-green eyes, "Isn't an ordinary human. He belonged to Athena…."

"Wait...Athena?" Kurama stopped him, green eyes widening, "You mean the Greek GODDESS Athena?"

Koenma nodded, "Precisely. Athena, along with a plethora of other deities, are here in Japan for the World Summit…a Conference if you will between different pantheons. Arik was Athena's chosen human."

"AS fascinating as this all is," Hiei interrupted, "Why are we getting involved?"

"Because Arik is dead…"

Silence followed the demi-gods annoyed statement.

"If you will let me finish without further interruptions?" Koenma glared at his team; who regarded him with bored expressions. Ungrateful ingrates.

"Arik is Athena's chosen human. She was the one who called upon us; she said that Arik went out on a date, and never returned. A few hours later, her connection-her bond with him was severed. The only thing that could possibly do that is death. The human police are making no progress in this case. So far there have been twelve disappearances in the last two weeks. As far as we know the only one connected to the Summit is Arik."

"Do we even know if there is a demon involved?" Kurama asked. Koenma pinched the bridge of his nose in an effort to starve off the headache he could feel coming.

"No." the Reiki prince stated, "We don't have anything to go on. Neither do the human police. This is why I want you all too discreetly investigate. I don't expect to find anything; however… since a foreign dignitary has insisted; we have to look into it. Please….please…. just be discrete and don't piss anyone off. Please?"

Yusuke shrugged, "No promises," he replied, leaving the room, followed by his fellow team mates. Boton shook her head as she followed after them; discrete was NOT a word those four knew the definition of.

"So," Kwabara said, speaking up for the first time that night, "Do we even know where this Arik-dude's place is?"

"He's not there," Yusuke grumbled, "and the cops already ransacked the place; what's the point of looking there?"

"He's got a point," Kurama said, "The police may have been there already; but we might be able to sense something that they missed."

"Fun…" the Mazuko said, his voice dripping in sarcasm.

"This way," Boton's bubbly cheerful voice said above them, "I'll take you to Mr. Hunter's apartment."

A few minutes later found them in a hotel high rise. The air fairly crackled with concealed power.

"Does anyone else feel that?" Kwabara whispered, as they walked through the hotel hallways. "Feels like we're standing next to an electric substation…"

"The Summit is being held in the amphitheater across the street. Many of the dignitaries attending the conference are staying in the surrounding hotels. What you're feeling is their power…"

"Why not keep them all in the same hotel?" Yusuke asked, "There can't be THAT many of these ancient deities…"

"You'd be surprised," Boton replied, "And the different pantheons don't mesh well. If we tried to house them all in one hotel… we'd have a war on our hands. It's hard enough to keep the peace within the different groups; much less across pantheons."

"Nice to know…" Yusuke muttered. They stopped at one of the suites; the only one with yellow crime scene tape across the door.

"Is this really wise?" Kwabara asked, "I mean…. This is still an ongoing investigation…"

Yusuke tried the door; locked. Not surprising since they were in a hotel and it was a crime scene. Yusuke moved out of the way and allowed Kurama access to the door. Within moments the door lock turned from red to green; and the door swung open easily.

Carefully the Reiki team stepped through the caution tape and surveyed the dark room. It looked more like an apartment then hotel room. Yusuke let out a low whistle at the luxury.

"I wouldn't mind living like this…" the Mazuko said, moving effortless through the dark room; demon eyes having no problems piercing through the gloom.

Kwabara, the only human of the bunch and thus only one without demonic-night vision; flicked on a small flash light and went to work looking around the apartment, Boton following close on his heels.

"Nothing looks out of place." Yusuke said, grumpily.

Kurama paused and picked up the only article of clothing not put carefully away. He picked up the black wool blazer hanging on the back of a kitchen chair and took a deep breath. The spice of a man's cologne made his sensitive nose twitch; but there was something there…. A subtle fragrance…

"What is it?" Hiei asked from near his elbow; the Kitsune avatar handed the blazer over to the apparition.

"It's subtle," he said, "but it's hard to get a good scent through all of the cologne the man wears."

Hiei took the blazer and gave it a cursory sniff; his nose not anywhere near as sensitive as the fox's. Instead the apparition began to go through the pockets. Perhaps there was something left in them that would contain a better scent for the fox to latch onto.

Finding nothing, they replaced the blazer and kept searching. In the bathroom there was a hamper partially filled with clothing. Again, Hiei pulled out the various clothing; each smelling of the human's cologne. In one pocket he felt a bit of cloth. He pulled the fabric out; it smelled differently than the rest of the clothes; not to mention… it appeared to be a different color as well. Though it was hard to tell in the dark.

"Fox," Hiei called, holding out the fabric in his hand. Kurama immediately took it; that same subtle scent filled his head only much stronger. It was nearly intoxicating in its strength; warm, sweet and spicy, like spiced honey. Yusuke took the fabric from Kurama's hand; breaking the trance the fox seemed to be in. Kwabara shone his light of the item; it was red and lacy….and very see-through.

"Ho, ho," Yusuke laughed, holding out the item, "Looks like you were just sniffing some ladies panties, Kurama….you pervert you."

Kurama felt his face heat; but didn't dignify the crass remark with a response.

"What are the odds of these belonging to the 'date'" Yusuke asked, swinging the article of clothing around his index finger and filling the air with its exotic scent.

"Whoever she is," he mutter, "she sure smells good."

"Hn,"

Suddenly the lights flared on, temporarily blinding everyone.

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" A calm, voice demanded. Power crackled at the persons words; Yusuke felt his own energy rise in response to the threat. He growled.

"What the hell is with turning on the lights!?" he demanded, "Sheesh…lil warning next time lady!"

"I will not ask again," she stated firmly.

"We're here to investigate Arik Hunter's disappearance," Boton said, quickly coming to stand between the guys and the newest arrival. She bowed to the woman, "We were sent by Prince Koenma."

"Indeed," the woman replied moving into the room. Once Yusuke could see again; he glared at the women.

"And who the he…" suddenly Boton's hand slapped over his mouth, before he could finish his sentence.

"Yusuke…." She said sweetly, "This is Athena…." Then in a vicious whisper, "BEHAVE!"

He raked his eyes over the older looking women. The goddess Athena, if that was indeed who and what she was, looked like an ordinary human woman of around forty. Her long honey-blonde hair was tied back in a thick braid that fell to her waist. She wore white; white blouse, tucked into white slacks, with white slip on shoes. The only unusual thing about her were her swirling, blue-grey eyes. Those eyes were ancient and wise.

"Indeed…" Athena said; looking over the rag-tag group the Reiki Prince had sent to find her Arik. They didn't look like much; yet, technically neither had Odysseus and yet look at the things he had accomplished in his life.

She regarded the dark eyed man before her; he had all the anger and arrogance of youth. Boldly looking her in the eyes; unafraid. If she was, perhaps Ares, that defiant look would have induced her ire. Yet, she did not see it as a challenge, even though she was sure that was exactly what it was. He did not believe her to be a goddess; and why should he? Her kind had drifted from memory and into myth; their power only a fraction of what it once was. Yet still more than enough to put this little puppy in his place.

She had heard about this young buck; his tale was one straight out of the old days. Death, redemption, resurrection… oh yes… such an entertaining tale; especially for one so young.

"So you're the great Urameshi everyone keeps grumbling about?" she asked, she regarded him thoughtfully, "With everything I've heard… I would have expected someone older. More…" she turned to regard the other two demons, "their age."

"Yea well… apparently the Fates didn't like me too much," Yusuke muttered, "It's been a rough few years."

Athena smiled, knowing exactly how her sisters, the Moirai, enjoyed toying with those that entertained them.

"If you don't want them to play with you," she replied, "Then you shouldn't be so entertaining, Mr. Urameshi."

Yusuke scowled; and opened his mouth to retort… only to have Kurama interrupt him.

"Pardon our intrusion into your companion's space, my lady," Kurama said smoothly, hoping to prevent the temperamental detective from putting is foot in his mouth, "We are simply here in hopes of finding something the human police may have overlooked."

Athena regarded the red-haired youth before her quizzically. How interesting, though his body was human… his soul...was that of a spirit fox. She turned to look at the smallest of the three demons; he regarded her with cool indifference, clearly not impressed. His energies swirled and clashed; fighting against each other in such a way that it created a strange sort of equilibrium. A darker energy, more reminiscent of her brother Hades, clung to his arm; eager to be released and fed. Then, there was the human, who silently watched her; he didn't glare or challenge her. Instead he seemed to be waiting to see what the other members of his team did.

"What an interesting group," she said, tapping one golden nail against her chin. "Well," she said, "Have you found anything yet?"

"Just a scent of a woman," Kurama stated, ignoring the soft snickers of his teammates behind him. Athena pursed her lips; wonder what that was about?

"Can you tell us about this 'date' of his?" the red-head asked. The goddess shook her head;

"Unfortunately," she said, "I can't. I never met the woman. Arik simply told me he had met a young woman at the bar and he would be meeting her again that night."

"You didn't bother to find out who she was?" Yusuke grumbled; Athena cast a cool look toward the detective.

"Arik is my companion," she said, "Not my child, nor my slave. He is a full grown human adult. If he decides he wants to go dance in traffic that is HIS decision. As such, it is none of my business what he does when he is not in my company."

Yusuke opened his mouth to say something only to be quickly muffled as an oar magically found its way to his stomach. "Do you remember what bar he said he met her in?" Boton asked innocently.

"A bar around the corner," she said, "Something called….Hells Bells?"

"Thank you lady," Kurama said, giving the goddess another bow. Yusuke may enjoy tempting a goddesses ire; Kurama wasn't nearly so stupid or suicidal. Between Boton and him they grabbed the obnoxious detective and dragged him out of the room before he could manage to say something else inappropriate.

"Jeez Yusuke!" Boton screeched, once they were out of sight from the hotel, "What the hell is wrong with you?! Do you have some sort of death wish?!"

The detective snorted and brushed imaginary dust off of his jacket. "So are we going to go check out this bar or not?"

The bar was no more than hole in the wall with a small neon light flashing above it that read "Hells Bells".

"What a weird place…" Kwabara mumbled, "You sure this is right?"

Kurama and Hiei glanced at each other; they couldn't sense anything from within the building. Meaning that the building was heavily warded… but against what? They weren't fools and neither of them had lived as long as they had by jumping recklessly into dangerous situations. With a name like 'Hells Bells' and enough warding to block even the Jagan…. Then this was no ordinary bar… and its patrons would most defiantly not be human.

They both glanced behind them at the reckless Mazuko and his equally reckless human best friend, then to the lovely but completely naive reaper.

"Oh this is going to be fun…" Hiei muttered, giving Kurama a sarcastic grin before he headed for the door. Kurama hung his head… _Why me?_ He thought, _why, oh why, does it always happen to me?_

Kurama sent up a quick prayer to whatever deity that could hear him; there were dozens of them in the city surely one of them could listen to a poor kitsune and let this go over smoothly.

They stepped into the dark, shadowy interior; music pounded and lights flashes. It was impossible to see or hear anything. Slowly, their eyes adjusted. Yusuke and Kwubara felt their hearts skip a beat. The room was filled with the glittering, glowing eyes of non-humans. Across the room, on a backlight stage; a female demon danced to the music. Black horns curled back from her forehead, and black wings sprouted from her back…. A demon…

Suddenly Kurama grabbed both of their shirt sleeves and dragged them over to the bar.

"What the hell is this?" Yusuke hissed.

_A bar, you idiot,_ Hiei's mental voice stated, his distain at their apparently stupidity,

_Obviously it's a bar,_ Yusuke growled, glaring at the apparition, _I've never seen a bar like this…_

_That's because this is a special sort of bar, Yusuke,_ Kurama's voice stated, sharing the link Hiei had apparently made with each of them.

_Not everything in here is a demon…_ Kwabara stated, he could sense demons; but not everything in that room felt like a demonic aura. Some felt way creepier.

_There are more than just demons out there, oaf, _Hiei stated; _if you thought Japan was the only place where demon's resided then you are beyond foolish._

_What about the three realms?_ Kwabara said, nervously as a woman with extremely cold hands, and pale white skin smiled at him. Her eyes' glowed in the strange lighting.

_Exists only in Japan,_ Kurama stated, _Enma has no power once he leaves the island. Reiki only THINKS they control the influx of supernatural beings here. In reality, we all know they are clueless. They are so concerned with their stupid barrier they don't ever realize that there is more out there._

Yusuke and Kwabara shared a look; even as Kwabara edged away from the strange woman who was leaning a bit too close for comfort and sniffing him. If Reiki had missed something this big; what the hell else had they missed?

"Aren't you a tasssssty, looking human," the woman purred, running her clawed hand down the front of Kwabara's jacket. Suddenly they realized how out of place Kwabara was; standing their dressed in is normal white trench coat. Not to mention he was the only human in an otherwise supernatural bar.

"Tell me, human," the woman purred, moving closer, dark hair tumbling over her pale thin shoulder. She looked anorexic… did she honestly believe she looked attractive that way? She was almost skeletal. "Are you…attached to anyone?"

Hiei glared at his teammates as they starred at the vampire that was currently trying to crawl on top of Kwabara. He wasn't at all surprised to find this bar; in fact, he had been there more than a few times over the years. It was his sort of place. Both Kurama and Kwabara stuck out like a sore thumb here; Yusuke however, Hiei had little problem imagining this to by some place the detective would go. It was a good place to do one of two things… disappear and get drunk… or pick a fight.

Irritated  
that he would have to help the idiot; Hiei grabbed the tallest member of their team and jerked him backward. The human slid easily off the stood he was seated on, suddenly finding himself on the floor between the stools and the bar. The vampire hissed; annoyed that he prey had been taken. Hiei growled, placing his hand casually on the counter near the irate leech and let flames dance across his fingers. We watched with satisfaction as the leech's eyes widened; then it disappeared back into the crowd. Vampire's, if one could even call that pathetic creature a vampire, were stubborn tenacious creatures when it came to their prey. Very few things deterred them; very few things could kill them… however… fire was something they all feared.

"Well, well," a rough voice growled from behind the counter, "Never thought I'd see the day you protected a human, _Jaganshi."_

_"_You overstep yourself, Nagoshi*" he growled, regarding the large man behind the counter.

"My bar, Jaganshi," he replied, "I can step where I want…perhaps, though… you have something of value for me?"

Hiei snorted, the bear was an old spirit from America of all places; taller than most and built solid like his name sake, nothing was ever given for free here. If you wanted something; you had to be willing to part with something of equal value.

"Depends on what you have of value for me…" he replied. Yusuke glanced between Hiei and the stranger behind the bar. He opened his mouth to demand what was going on; only to be silenced by a vicious look from Kurama.

The man's eyes surveyed the group in front of him. The fire apparition was a common enough sight in the bar; yet, never had he brought company with him. He would never have even believed that the testy demon had anyone he trusted enough at his back; yet…

"I've heard rumor's you're Koenma's dog now, Jaganshi" the old bear teased; the apparition glowered at him. It would take far more than that to impress the old spirit.

Hiei snorted; "Here I thought you wanted to do business, yet all I here is gossip…"

Nagoshi laughed, "You know what I trade in, Jaganshi, which of your lovely companions is willing to pay the fee?"

"What's the fee?" Kwabara whispered. The old spirit leaned forward; feral yellow eyes regarded the human and a murderous smile curled his scarred lips.

"The only thing of value, to someone like myself;" he stated; eyeing each in turn; his eyes finally settling on the pretty blue haired woman; trying to mold herself against the fox.

"Her…"

Boton whimpered as the ancient spirit gazed at her with lust filled eyes. Long yellowed fangs could be seen each time he spoke. Nagoshi…. called upon but early Native American's during battle; the ancient bear spirit had developed an insatiable lust for blood. She cringed against Kurama; glad that she had somehow managed to squeeze herself into the middle of the group.

"And what do I get in return?" Hiei demanded. Boton squeaked… surely Hiei wouldn't give her to that…that… monster?!

The old bear spirit regarded the demon in front of him quietly; "What is it you want, Jaganshi?"

"Boton…picture…" Hiei stated curtly; holding out his hand. Irritated, she almost ignored the demons demand; only a sharp nudge from Kurama had her pulling out a picture of Arik Hunter and handing it to him.

"I seek this man," he stated, "Alive or dead, I seek is location."

"Ah…" the old spirit said, a thick claw tapped on the counter.

"He is one of the missing I take it?"

Hiei nodded once.

"Leave this case alone, Jaganshi," Nagoshi said, "It is not something souls such as ours need to get involved in."

Hiei said nothing; just continued to silent regard the bartender. The old bear sighed;

"Stubborn fool," he grumbled. "It's no secret that something has been hunting the streets of Tokyo lately."

"Hunting?" Again Kwabara piped up only to be quickly shushed.

"Many have disappeared; both human and non. None have been seen since their disappearance."

"Any clues to who or what is causing the disappearances?"

The old bear shrugged; "Some kind of reptile," the bear sniffed, "I know their musk anywhere."

Hiei nodded, that would be all he would be getting out of the old spirit.

"Boton, your arm." He said. Nagoshi's eyes glowed in the dim light.

"Wha…? No…" she whimpered. Hiei reached out and grabbed her wrist before she could move away; without regret he sliced open the reapers palm. Boton hissed in pain.

"What the hell shorty!"

Nagoshi leaned forward eagerly. Hiei snatched the bloody hand out of reach.

"Ah ah, you didn't give me enough for anything more than a taste."

The bear growled as Hiei snagged someone shot glass and proceeded to fill the small cup to the brim with blood. Once the cup was full; Hiei released Boton's arm and slid the glass toward the ancient spirit, careful to no let a single drop spill.

"You drive a hard bargain, Jaganshi," the spirit growled, taking the glass and knocking it back like it was a shot of whiskey.

"Til next time, old man," Hiei said, leading the group back through the dark bar. More than one creature propositioned them as they left; pawing at their clothes, eager for their own taste of blood and power.

Once outside and away from the bar; Kwabara exploded.

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT SHORTY?! WHY DID YOU HAVE TO GO AND HURT BOTON LIKE THAT?!"

Hiei gave the human a droll look.

"That was the price of the information; fool," Hiei stated, "Nothing is free."

"But…she's a girl…why her?" Kwabara crossed his arms, clearly not happy about it.

"Because it was me he wanted," Boton said, a white cloth was wrapped around her hand. She glared at Hiei; "Still, doesn't excuse your actions."

Hiei shrugged. He didn't care what the idiots thought of him. He'd serve their heads on a platter if he thought it would get him what he wanted; well…

"So what now?" Yusuke asked, shoving his hands into his pockets. "We now know we're looking for some kind of reptile?"

"Could be anything," Kurama stated. "There are so many…"

"I know someone who might be able to help…" Kwabara said. Everyone paused, to look at the ginger-haired man.

"You do?"

Kwabara nodded. "Have to wait 'til tomorrow though," he said, "She's a professor at the University."

This is all I have so far... what do ya'll think?

Again, not sure where all I'm going with it. But we'll see.

I hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own IY or YYH.

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 2:

Kwabara lead his teammates into the college at quarter to seven; classes technically started at eight but he knew Professor Taisho would be grading papers. She was always there early. Sure enough; as they neared her classroom, he could hear the up lifting and energizing violin music the Professor always listened to. Cautiously, he knocked on the Professors open door. Blue-grey eyes met his over a pair of cats-eye glasses.

"Mr. Kwabara," she said, smiling at her student, "What a pleasant surprise…. To what do I owe this unexpected visit?"

Behind him he heard Yusuke suck in a breath as they actually caught sight of the Professor of Mythological Studies. He knew what they were thinking; probably the same thing he had his first year there.

Wow.

Professor Taisho wasn't particularly tall for a woman; just a few inches taller than Hiei really. However, she had curves in all of the right places and her presence was simply... magnetic. Long black hair hung down her back in a thick braid, it was streaked with white, almost like it was intentional rather than from age. She smiled easily and often; the laugh lines around her eyes giving testament to her life of laughter.

Today the Professor was dressed in a simple black jacket that went to her elbows, a royal blue under shirt and black slacks. Her heels clicked against the floor as she stood to greet Kwabara and his friends.

"My friends and I need some help," he said, "I thought you might be the best one to give us some assistance."

Taisho regarded her ginger-haired student and smiled; "Of course, Mr. Kwabara, please… you and your friends have a seat and tell me what I can help you with."

Only one out of the group noticed the way the Professors eyes sharpened as the three demons moved into the room. Hiei regarded the woman silently; something was off about her. For a moment her eyes met his analytical gaze; suddenly blue-grey flashed to a pale crystalline blue and the wrinkles smoothed out. The hair remained streaked with white; but the face itself was young. Then just as suddenly; the vision was gone and the Professor was grinning at him with a wicked light in her grey-blue orbs.

Taisho tapped her carefully concealed claw against the desk as she listened to the youths in front of her; she listened to both what they were saying…and what they weren't.

The youths were desperately trying to find a way to give her all the information without making her think that they were hunting a demon. How adorable. She hadn't survived for the last five centuries without being able to read between the lines.

Question now came to WHY were they, of all people, hunting for a demon? The three demons she could understand; even if two of the three felt bizarre even for those of the demonic species. It was almost like they were mix breeds… or least one of them. The other… he felt so similar to Shippo… just older. The shortest of the three… now he was an interesting one. She'd have to be on guard around him, else he would see through her carefully wrought disguise. Strange energy twisted and flared around him in a steady swirl; even while he seemed to give off no outward sign of an aura. Still, she could easily see the four opposing energies within him; a facinating dance of dominance held together by sheer strength of will. She would definatly need to be cautious around that one. Already he had somehow managed to pierce the veil around her and for just a moment; saw her true self… now he studied her intently. Trying to figure out what he saw no doubt.

"So…you're looking for types of reptilian mythological creatures then?" she said, raising an inquisitive brow, "that were known for preying on young human men?"

"Uh….yes?" Kwabara said, obviously suddenly realizing how ridiculous his request sounded even with all of the so called 'explanations'.

"Hm," she said, resuming tapping her claws on the desk. His request would certainly explain why she had been sensing demon activity within the city. Obviously someone was keeping it very hush hush since she hadn't seen anything on the news about the disappearances.

"Well, there are dozens of creatures over a vast range of cultures that fit that description, Mr. Kwabara," she said, "Dragons, serpents, snake people, crocodiles, nagas, hydras, gorgons…. The list goes on and on."

"Here in Japan alone we have the Kiyohime," she continued, counting off a few of the names she could think of off hand, "which was a woman who turned into a giant serpent out of rage, than there is the Nure-onna…which is a snake-like creature with the head of a woman, then there's the Tsuchinoko monster….the list just goes on and on. And that's just in Japanese folklore. You add in other cultures…"

"Yea we get the point…" the one called Yusuke muttered, running his hand through his hair.

"Just a thought," she said, "Have you considered that you're wrong? That it's not reptilian? There are just as many spirits renown for preying on young men. Succubus are a prime example."

"How so?" the red-haired Kurama asked.

"Succubus?" Yusuke asked.

"Succubi are female demons who feed off the sexual energy of men. Normally until the man has literally no more energy to give and dies."

"Wait...wait…" Yusuke said, waving his hands in front of his face, "You're saying that these demons basically fuck a man to death?"

"YUSUKE!"

"URAMESHI!"

Taisho grinned at the blunt young man; "If you want to put it crassly…than…yes…"

Yusuke grinned a lecherous grin that was so reminiscent of a certain cerulean eyed monk; that she felt her heart clench painfully.

"Now that's the way to go," Yusuke stated, then glancing at his teammates, "Screw dying in a fight, hook me up with a gorgeous succubus and I'll go on to Hell with a smile on my face."

She shook her head even as the red-head dropped his head into his hands and tried to massage his temples. Judging by the long suffering look on the older youths face; this was apparently, not uncommon behavior.

They talked for a while longer; bouncing ideas back and forth about various creatures that were known for abducting humans. All the while a part of her mind analyzed the four young men in front of her. They were young to be demon hunters. Not even into their mid-twenties yet; even the dark, stoic demon was fairly young as far as demons go. He was only a couple centuries old if she had a guess. The red-head… his spirit was old, but the human form her took was still young… She mentally shook her head; who in their right mind would send a bunch of kids out to hunt demons in this era?

"Well, thank you very much for your assistant, Professor," Kurama said, standing up and giving her a bow. She smiled at them;

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help," she said, "if you find anything else out, feel free to come back."

"We will," Yusuke said; as they all filed out the door.

They had barely stepped foot into the hallway when the communicator went off.

Yusuke flipped open the device and greeted Boton; "What's up Boton?"

"Koenma was wanting a progress report," Boton said, "Did the Professor give you any leads?"

"Too many in fact…." Yusuke said. Hiei stopped listening as he felt someone watching him. He slowly searched the empty hall.

There….

Just a flicker of movement in the shadows… he stared intently at the shadowed doorway. Nothing moved… nothing so much as twitched.

Suddenly from behind a trash can there was a flicker of movement. A tiny whiskered nose edged along the base of the can. Hiei snorted. A mouse… pathetic.

Taisho watched from her door as the group paused down the hall to speak with a blue haired woman on some sort of phone-link device. She felt her blood start a slow boil at the familiar blue hair and pale pink eyes. The Reiki Reaper…

She smiled, viciously, baring her fangs as excitement and the age old rage burned in her stomach. As the group turned the corner and there was the familiar flash of power of a portal being opened; Taisho's eyes slide to the dark doorway the short dark haired demon had been studying.

"That was close," she said, "Nice touch with the mouse…"

A tall ginger haired man stepped casually from the shadows. He looked like an average college student dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. His forest green eyes, only a shade or two darker than Kwabara's red-headed friend's emerald orbs, grinned at her.

"Thanks," he said coming to stand next to the dark haired woman; he towed over her petite frame. "You look positively vicious…"

She smiled up at her oldest and dearest friend; easily able to see through his disguise to the mischievous kitsune beneath, "It looks like the Fates have smiled on us," she said and laughed. How perfect was it that the young men who needed her expertise to hunt a demon were actually working for the bastard Reiki prince that had fucked up all of her life plans? She couldn't have planned it better if she had tried.

"It's time to go hunting," she purred, giving him a toothy grin.

"The prey?" he asked.

"We're going to help those poor young men, find their demon," she said sweetly. "They will be our ticket to that bastard Koenma…"

A predatory smile curled the young man's lips, "and into Reiki…"

She shared a feral grin with her son, "Then we can take back what was ours."

"Contact the others…" she said, turning back towards her desk, "Let them know that plans have changed. This will have to be done carefully. The short one, Hiei, is already suspicious. I want everything you can dig up about those four. EVERYTHING. "

She sat back down and went back to grading papers. The young man turned to leave;

"Oh, and Shippo?" She called, he turned back, "Do be careful dear…"

He gave her a grin, "Of course, Mother." He sauntered out of the room with a wave… then disappeared into the shadows.

Ok... I know this is horribly short. But I wanted to post something before I left work and anything that came after this was enough of a plot jump that it... just seemed to need it's own chapter. So hopefully by the time I get back to work on Saturday I'll have some more for you.

I hope you enjoyed! Please review!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own IY or YYH

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 3:

They spent the next three nights prowling the streets of Tokyo; hoping for some sense of the demon. However, it was like the demon knew they were looking and decided to lay low. They hadn't found hide more hair of anything out of the ordinary.

Yusuke growled as yet another 'demonic energy' turned out to be a regular ol' low level demon. Granted, technically even they weren't supposed to be there… but even Yusuke could figure out that they weren't the creature they were searching for.

"This is completely pointless!" Yusuke snarled, "How the hell are we going to find a demon that no one seems to know anything about? We don't know where to look or even what to freaking look for!"

Silence met his outburst; none of his companions had an answer to his question. In fact all of them were asking themselves the exact same question.

"This is a pointless endeavor," Hiei agreed, "Surely a 'goddess' could find her own companion…"

"Exactly!" Yusuke growled, "How the hell are WE supposed to find someone that even a god can't? Doesn't make and damned sense! OOOOOOF!"

Yusuke's rant was cut off as he ran head long into someone coming out of a store front. Instinctively he reached out to grab whoever he had just run into; even as that same person, instinctively leap away, trying to get away from what they had just run into. The result…. A mass of tangled limbs and scattered merchandise sprawled across the cool sidewalk.

Yusuke found himself starring into stormy blue-grey eyes that, for just a moment flashed a pale sapphire; the scent of spring rain and lavender filled his head. It took him a stunned moment to realize that somehow, he had indeed caught the women he had run into; one arm was currently wrapped tightly around her waist pressing her flush against him, while the other was braced against the concrete preventing his weight from landing on her.

To say she was stunned was an understatement; she normally paid such attention to her surroundings that she could easily avoid such collisions, yet as she had been coming out of the store, her mind had not been on what was in front of her. Warm chocolate eyes starred at her nearly as stunned as she was; a blush crept across the man's face as he, too, came out of his shock and realized their position.

When was the last time she had allowed herself to be so close to a man? Any male really? How long since she had felt the warmth of the opposite sex? The scent of pine and summer storms surrounded her.

"Professor!"

The startled shouts broke the moment; and suddenly time began to flow again. Yusuke scrambled to his feet.

"Bloody hell," he swore, "Are you alright? Sorry 'bout that Professor..."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," Taisho replied, stepping away from the detective and began brushing off her clothing. Kwabara had already begun picking up her bags and returning the spilled items.

"What are you doing here?" Hiei growled; the university was on the opposite end of the city.

Taisho glared at the smaller demon; "Not that it's any of your business," she snapped, "But I live around here. What are YOU all doing here?"

"Hn."

"I'm real sorry 'bout that, Professor," Kwabara said, returning her bags to her.

"Honestly it's not a problem," she assured the ginger-haired youth. "I somehow doubt Mr. Urameshi meant to run into me."

Kwabara glared at his best friend, "Still should have been paying attention to where he was going!"

Yusuke growled at his friend, clenching his fist; unconcerned what the Professor would think of the animalistic sound coming out of a supposedly human throat.

"Easy, gentlemen," She said, sensing an impending fight; "It was just an accident. I'm not hurt. So no harm no foul."

Yusuke huffed and crossed his arms; a light stain still coloring his cheeks. He gave the Professor a side-long glance as she assured Kwabara that she wasn't hurt. It had been too long since he felt the warmth of having a woman pressed against him… and he found that he missed the sensation. He let his eyes wander down the Professor's form; lingering on her soft curves. He defiantly wouldn't mind having her pressed against him again…

"Where is your vehicle, Professor," Kurama said, "We'll walk you too it."

"Oh, thank you," she said, "But really that won't be necessary. I just live around the corner. It was a pleasure meeting you again…"

The Professor turned and started off down the street. Kurama, Kwabara, and Yusuke shared a look as they watched the petite woman walk down the dark street; Hiei sighed and rolled his eyes as they immediately began to follow her.

Taisho felt the four young men come up beside her; she glanced at the leader of said group and raised a brow in question.

"Couldn't very well let you walk home alone at this time of night," He said, linking his hands behind his head as he walked.

She shook her head and smiled at him; "So," she said, "How's your 'project' coming?"

Yusuke snorted in irritated, "It's going nowhere fast." He grumbled. A quick glance showed the same irritation mirrored on the rest of the teams faces.

"We've been searching every night and still no sign….OW!" Kwabara's rant was cut short as Hiei stomped on his foot. The red-head had the grace too look ashamed, he had almost forgotten that they hadn't told the Professor the truth about the case. Taisho smiled.

"I'm sure," she said covering her smirk, "Well… perhaps you are going about it wrong?"

The Professor paused at a gate; Yusuke turned to regard her with interest. It was willing to take any help he could get at the moment.

"Well, if searching isn't working…" she said, "then perhaps you would be better off laying a trap?"

A trio a stares was all she got in response; though at least the older red-head was giving the idea some serious consideration. Taisho rolled her eyes;"

"Since you know next to nothing about the perp, then why don't you look at the victims? Perhaps they had something in common that you can use? Or, since all the men missing had dates...you could set a trap of some kind?"

Another serious of blank stares; suddenly she had an inkling of what the red-head must go through. Said red-head was looking at her like he had just had an epiphany.

"Of course," he muttered, "Why the hell didn't I think of that?!"

"What are you going on about? You understood that?"

For a moment, Kurama and the Professor shared a long-suffering look; "Thank you Professor," Kurama said, "That gives me an idea. I appreciate it."

"Glad I could help," she said, "I hope you boys have a good night."

With that she turned and strolled through the gate and up the stairs; disappearing into the house. Once sure she was safely inside; Kurama turned and started down the sidewalk with long purposeful strides.

"Call Boton," he told Yusuke, "We to see the files on all the missing men."

"Huh?"

"Just do it, Yusuke," Kurama said, "Have her bring them to my apartment as soon as she's done."

"Where are you going?"

"To do some research," he replied, Hiei automatically falling into step beside him, "Unless YOU want to break into the police department Yusuke?"

Yusuke glanced at Kwabara; of the four,they were about as subtle as a wrecking ball. Stealth was not their forte; that was better left to the other two members of their group. Instead, they would go bother Boton and Koenma for the files they needed.

Taisho watched as the Reiki team broke into two different groups; and smirked. Perhaps now they would get somewhere.

"Did it work?" a soft voice from behind her asked. She glanced back at forest green eyes.

"Flawlessly," she replied, "Uremeshi and Kwabara are going to speak with the Reiki reaper, and better yet, Hiei isn't with them…. so now would be your chance."

"Wish me luck," he said, with a cocky wave as he disappeared into the shadows. She resisted the need to snort;

"Luck would have nothing to do with it," she said. Her son had worked hard to achieve the level of skill he had now; and there was no better in the three realms. He would find the information they wanted and Reiki would be none the wiser. It was only a matter of time.

She turned and moved into the kitchen to fix herself something to eat; greeting the small cream-colored cat as she went.

Now... she would wait...

333

Yusuke and Kwabara strolled into Koenma's office; not bothering to knock as they went. The Reiki ruler glared at the two, probably most irritating members, of his team.

"What is it Yusuke?" he ground out past clenched teeth.

"I need the files on all the missing men," he said, as if that was the simplest request in the world.

"What?! Why do you need those?" He demanded. The detective shrugged.

"I dunno, pacifier-breath," Yusuke said, irritated, "Kurama said we needed them, so I'm here to get them. Either hand them over, or I'll go down there and try to find them myself."

The irritating detective then gave Koenma a look that clearly said that if he had to go down to the records rooms and find the files that he would leave disaster in his wake. Koenma cringed at the thought. It would take months to get everything organized again if Yusuke went down there.

Koenma called down to the records room and gave them the names of the missing men. Then jumped over his desk.

"Come on then," the toddler said, "It'll take them a bit, so I'll show you two down to the records room. What in the world could that fox want…?"

The door clicked shut behind them cutting off the sentence; unnoticed by the group a single leave fluttered to the ground as Kwabara turned to follow Koenma out of the room.

Once the door was shut and the tell-tale click of the lock was engaged; the leaf began to twitch and grow. Moments later forest green eyes surveyed the room. He knew the files he needed wouldn't be in the regular records department; he had bribed an ogre centuries ago to look for the files he needed. Only, the ogre hadn't been able to find files on any of them. It was as if they had never existed. Which only meant one of two things; either Reiki had destroyed their files…which was extremely unlikely. Or, more probable, the toddler-god had them hidden somewhere secure.

He tapped one slender claw against his chin as he surveyed the room. It wouldn't be somewhere obvious… no, something of this magnitude would be hidden.

He pulled out a small ball from a pouch on his belt and crushed it. A dark blue smoke boiled out from the crushed pieces; "Find the hidden places," he whispered to it; then lightly blew across the smoke. Dark blue rolled across the room, filling it; soon it would expand until it found and filled every nook, every cranny. Then he would be able to tell where the secret compartments were. The smoke took only moments to fill the room; when it was done, he slowly dissipated it from the air.

"Reveal," he whispered; all along the edges of doors and floor boards the smoke suddenly began to glow. He checked each glowing spot until he found what he was looking for. Under the desk, beneath a floor board, within a safe… a slow smile curled his lips.

"Now, whatever are you hiding down there?" he said in an almost sing song voice. He knelt and crawled under the desk. The safe pulsed with defensive magic; not that that deterred him in the slightest.

Fire flickered along his hand as he let his energy slide over the safe; he 'saw' the spell placed on the item, and went about unraveling the energy. Less the thirty seconds later there was a satisfying click as his fire slide into the safe itself and unlocked it. He grinned at the stack of files sitting innocently within the dark space.

Cautiously he pulled them out; eyes flicking over the titles. He pulled out his phone and quickly started scanning each paper. By the time he heard voices coming down the hall again; he had the files slipped back into place, the safe locks and the spell back in place. He left everything exactly as he found it.

"For the love of…." Koenma swore as he stalked back into his office; now he needed to get his communicator to call Boton again, so she could take the detective back to Kurama's… why she had disappeared in the first place he didn't know. She bloody well knew that the detectives would have to return soon…

Koenma froze as he suddenly realized that something felt off within his room. He looked around; nothing seemed to have been moved. But the feeling lingered...almost like...someone had been in his office.

He didn't know how he knew; but he knew his space had been violated.

"OGRE!" he bellowed, "WHO WAS IN MY OFFICE?!"

He grabbed the communicator and left; intending to chew the offending ogre up one side and down the other for going into his office. He never noticed the tiny leaf cling to his shoe as he stormed out. Nor did anyone notice as said leaf, lazily floated over to cling onto Yusuke's pant leg as he disappeared through the portal.

Yay another chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Thank you for the wonderful reviews. For the reviewers who asked questions: I'm not telling. LOL Sorry. There is a method to my madness though and everything will be explained. And yes there is a reason why Taisho is named such; despite it being obvious 'who' she is. And no, it's not what you think. I know that is a horrible way to answer your questions... but I swear theres a reason! Honest... just bare with me.

Please review!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own IY or YYH

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 4:

"Alright, here are the files," Yusuke said, dropping the box onto the floor next to the coffee table. Kurama and Hiei glanced at them as Kwabara dropped another box. "Now what the hell are we looking for?"

"Connections," the red-head said, "There was something about these men that called to the killer. Some reason why, out of the hundreds of people in Tokyo, they were chosen. We need to figure out what that _thing_ was."

Yusuke signed as he flopped down onto the floor. This was going to be a very long, very boring night.

"Start at the end," Kurama advised, "I'm guessing something in their recent history was the trigger, rather something in their past."

He slide silently into the house; he knew his mother was still awake. Insomnia was an old friend; being hunted for the last five centuries tended to leave one with an aversion to sleep. The vulnerability sleep caused was a perfect time to attack; and when your enemy was a God… you tended to forgo sleep in favor of safety and vigilance.

"Honey I'm home!" He called, snickering at himself.

"You're such a goof," she laughed from her spot curled on the couch, then her eyes grew serious, "Did you get it?"

He snorted, "As if there was any doubt?" he asked as he handed her his phone, "AAAAAnd… he said, I made sure to leave a little something there so that when we need to, we can return there."

His mother beamed up at him, "Brilliant," she said, "How many can say they broke into Prince Koenma's office, stole his private files, AND slipped out without anyone ever being the wiser. You have truly become a master of your trade."

He knelt by his mother's knee; suddenly wishing he was once again that small kit so he could crawl into her lap.

"You think that those files will tell us what we need?" he asked, laying his head in her lap.

"I hope so baby," she replied, "I hope so."

She glared at the pages in front of her. They told her NOTHING! In each of the files the story abruptly ends with the final battle five hundred years ago. After that, is a single sentence; "Due to insubordination, the following has been sentenced to: P."

What the fuck was "P"?

She snarled and slammed the stack of papers against the coffee table. She stalked around the room, the lights dimming and flickering in response to her rising fury.

"What does it say?" Shippo asked; coming back into the room to see what had upset his mother.

"They're located in "P"." Taisho stated, "just one question, WHAT THE FUCK IS "P"?!"

Shippo flinched as she bellowed; the lamp bulb bursting from the flex of power.

"Calm down, Momma," he said, speaking in a soft, calm and even voice. Centuries ago, his mother had angered easily yet forgiven even faster; yet after centuries on the run and everything they had gone through... his mother's temper had become legendary. No longer was she simply a teenager in a snit; now the very earth beneath their feel trembled when she was angry. She was as volatile as a certain half breed dog-demon ever had been.

Having borne witness to her fury more than once; he knew what to do. He lite a single sandalwood incense stick; the scent always helped calm his mother, then retreated until her fury had dissipated some. True to form; her fierce pacing began to slow.

"We'll find out what "P" stands for," he said, as he returned to the room and perched on the arm of the couch; "we just need to plan and play this right. Isn't that what you always tell me? 'Where there's a will there's a way' remember?"

She flopped back onto the couch next to her son;

"I know," she said, "you're right. You're right. This doesn't really change anything."

"Nope," Shippo agreed, then to distract her," which reminds me..."

He handed he the other set of print-offs he made.

"The information you wanted," he said. Taisho looked down at the pages in front of her; four stapled packets, one for each team member. Curious about the four Reiki team members; she began reading.

"Interesting," she said a while later, setting the files down. Shippo glanced at her question clear in his eyes.

"With the exception of Kwabara...not a single member is on that team because they want to be."

"What?" Shippo said, "Why are they there then?"

"Urameshi died... but because he saved a life he was stuck in limbo; one of those 'too good for Hell and not good enough for heaven' type of deals. So Koenma gave him a way to live again...and he's been paying off that debt by serving Reiki as a Spirit Detective. Kurama and Hiei were...are... both thieves. They stole artifacts from the Reiki Vault. Their capture was Urameshi's first assignment. Which he completed...and now both thieves are serving out their sentence by being indentured to Reiki."

"And the big guy?"

"Kwabara is there simply because Urameshi is. They're best friends and rivals as far as I can tell." She explained.

"Hn..." Shippo said, crossing his arms over his chest. "So is it a good thing or a bad thing that they're basically all criminals? With the exception of the one human who seems to have morals if not common sense..."

"Could be either," she said, "listen to this Shippo; Kurama actually has the soul of a kitsune named Youko Kurama..."

"No shit? Seriously?" Shippo starred for a moment, jaw slack. "He's a freaking legend! He was renown for being a Master Thief. Hell I idolized him as a kit... He was said to be the best, and not someone to be trifled with… he was cold, calculating and ruthless...How the hell did Reiki manage to catch him?"

"Everyone has a bad day eventually… we know that better than anyone…. And from this…Hiei isn't much better," she muttered. "Hm... says he's a 'forbidden child' whatever that is. Maybe that's kinda like a half breed...it says he's a mix of fire and...ice...wow... no wonder he had such opposing energy."

"Since when have you cared about that sorta thing?" Shippo asked.

She shrugged; "I don't, but apparently Reiki does." Forbidden Child' is in big bold print. If they are prejudiced against him, what the hell are they going to say about me?"

Shippo didn't say anything; nothing could be said really. They already had first-hand experience with the prejudice of Reiki; their relentless persecution of his mother was the main reason she was forced to change her name and go into hiding.

Taisho let out a low whistle; Shippo looked at her. "What is it?"

"He is a Jaganshi;" she whispered, "No wonder he could sense you and was able see through the illusion."

"Fuck me;" Shippo swore.

"Indeed," she agreed, "as if that wasn't enough somehow he managed to tame a Hell dragon. That is what's under that bandage on his arm."

"Fuck me sideways," he swore again; "you're kidding right?"

"Wish I was..." she replied.

"So we have an ancient kitsune thief and a ruthless Jaganshi who somehow managed to tame a Hell dragon...anything else you'd like to lay on me or can I go ahead and have my heart attack now?"

"Yusuke is a Mazoku," She said, "descendent of the Toshin, Raizen, no less."

"Of course he is," Shippo muttered. "Wonderful... we're so screwed."

"Easy Shippo," Taisho said, "knowledge is power remember. We know about them; their strengths AND their weaknesses. I'd hate to stoop to such levels but to undo the wrong that was done... I will if I have too."

Shippo nodded. "Hopefully it won't come to that. They didn't seem to be that bad a group. Kinda reminds me of ours..."

"Yes..." she agreed, "under different circumstances I believe I could get along with them."

"Feh," Shippo snorted, "please...you'd do more than 'get along with them'. Don't think I didn't see that little moment you and the detective had outside of the store..."

Taisho blushed, "I dunno what you're talking about."

Shippo laughed, "Oh really? Yea, he's loud, rude, obnoxious, strong and a demon... oh yea doesn't sound like your 'type' at all."

Taisho threw one of the couch pillows at him; "shut up!"

"Deny it..." he said, "c'mon mom...deny you're not attracted to him."

Taisho remained silent; arms crossed over her chest, glaring at him.

"Anyway..." she growled

"Uh huh...that's what I thought" he said with a cocky smirk.

"Shut up," she said, "we both know I can't afford to be attracted to him no matter how much I would like to."

The smile slipped from Shippo's face as he saw the pain and loneliness in his surrogate mothers eyes. He knew then that she truly did like the detective; but it was hopeless. They were on opposing sides of the board, as soon as Reiki found out who she was; Yusuke and his team would be sent to eliminate her. It was best that she not get too attached to the detective; Shippo didn't know how many more blows to the heart his mother could take before she broke.

He longed to have the ability to give his mother the peace and love she deserved. He leaned forward and snagged the detective's file from in front of his mother. He read through the mix-blood's file and felt a smile curl his lips. In multiple cases Urameshi went to great lengths to protect what was his; whether it is his friends or loved ones. His gaze slide over to his mother as she studied the file in front of her; if she was to survive another encounter with Reiki and have a peaceful life... then she would need allies. Allies who had little to lose and were fiercely loyal to those they cared about. It would take some work... his mother would fight the attraction tooth and nail. Yet the spark was there...

Shippo chewed on his lip; uncertain. If this idea backfired his mother would be crushed. If she fell for the Reiki detective then was forced to kill him later...it would destroy her. The darkness would finally consume her and the mother he loved would be lost.

Should he even risk it? She had already lost so much… could he pin his hopes on a male he didn't even now simply because he was the first male his mother had showed interest in since InuYasha?

No; he would wait. He loved his mother to much to trust a man he barely knew with her. If Urameshi was interested and did want her... he would have to prove that he was worthy... until then... he would wait and watch what happened.

"I really don't care for this plan," Yusuke grumbled. They had found a link between all of the victims; all of them frequented clubs within a four block radius of the conference center. There weren't that many to choose from really. Arik was the only one who had actually disappeared from a bar. Since all of the men that disappeared were pretty rather them handsome; it had been decided that Kurama would become 'bait'. The only problem with this so called 'plan' was that they had absolutely no idea what the woman actually looked like; so how in the HELL were they supposed to know who was the culprit and who was just a women hitting on Kurama?

"I don't hear you suggesting a better one," Hiei growled. Yusuke crossed his arms over his chest.

"Still don't like it," he grumbled.

"Dually noted," the fire demon snapped, "now shut up and let me do my job."

Yusuke stomped away; unable to do anything until Hiei gave him the signal.

'_If you're so worried_,' Hiei's voice growled in his head, _'go down into the club and provide us with another set of eyes!'_

With nothing better to do; he took the snarly demons advice and made his way into the club. The music pulsed and pounded around him. It had been too long since he had last been in a club. The scent of sweat and sex was over powering; it made his hands itch and mouth water. All around were dozens of scantily clad women shaking their God-given gifts, grinding against each other.

_'Focus detective'_, Hiei's mental voice cut through the lust filled fog like a splash of ice water.

"Yea, yea," he growled, making his way over to the bar. He could see Kurama not to far away, already a flock of women hovering near him vying for his attention.

"What will it be?" The bartender, a lovely girl in her early twenties, long blonde hair and a rocking body, asked from behind the bar. Yusuke grinned at the blue-eyed girl,

"Vodka" he said giving her a flitatious wink. She brought him his drink, leaning across the bar and giving him an eyefull;

"Can I get you anything else?" she asked. He grinned,

"I'm good for now," he said, rolling up and twenty and sticking it down into her clevage. She gave him a saucy wink and struted away, hips swinging. Yusuke knocked back the shot; instantly wishing that he could still get drunk off of the human beverage. He turned around; his gaze scanning the crowd. A flash of white caught his attention in the sea of writhing bodies.

It had been years since Shippo had convinced her to go into one of the human dance clubs. She loathed the noise and crowds of people; yet for some reason the kitsune wouldn't leave it be. He insisted. So here she was listening to music that made her head ache; surrounded by humans who smelled of sweat sex and excitement.

"Fancy seeing you here, Professor," a low voice growled. Taisho whirled; coming face to face with the Reiki detective. Startled she glanced behind her searching for Shippo; only to find neither hide nor hair of the brat.

_I'm gonna kill him_; she thought.

Yusuke watched as the Professor glared out at the crowd; clearly looking for someone and finding them to be missing.

She was even more gorgeous then he remembered. Her white streaked black hair was loose and hung down to her waist. She wore tight jeans that seemed to lengthen her legs and accentuate her ass. She wore a white shirt that hung off her shoulders and molded to her chest and stomach; the sleeves hung low and were held together with two brass rings at the elbow and bicep. She looked delectable.

"Dance with me Professor..." he whispered in her ear; the soft throaty growl sent shivers down her spine. She looked back into the wicked grinning face of the man she knew she needed to stay far, far away from. Yet... she was never very good at doing what was good for her. She found herself smirking at the lust evident in his dark eyes. What the hell...

Taisho gave him a sly-come-and-get-me grin and started moving to the music. For a moment Yusuke couldn't move as he watched her. His paralysis lasted only a moment before he joined her; running his hands over her sides and hips. Her arm slide up around his neck as her ass ground against him causing him to bite back a groan.

_'Looks like Yusuke is affectively distracted_,' Kurama told Hiei mentally.

_'About time,_' Hiei said, '_Now maybe we can get some work done…'_

The kitsune smirked at the relief he sensed in his partners mental voice. He knew the detectives constant pacing and worrying had been exceedingly distracting to the apparition.

Green eyes searched the crowd; nothing seemed out of place. He couldn't sense anything out of the ordinary. _'Anything?_'

_'No...Everyone's mind is on sex...'_" Hiei said in disgust. Kurama laughed at his friend.

_'Not everyone can have your titanium control, my friend'_ Kurama replied.

_'Hn..._ .'

It was well after midnight when Hiei sensed something odd.

_'Fox..._.' he said, _' behind you... I can't sense anything from that area..._'

Kurama turned; he didn't see anything of significance. Nothing unusual; just the normal party goers.

_'What is it, Hiei?_' He asked, _'there's nothing there..._'

_'There's something there_,' he insisted, _'it's a blank spot. I can't sense anything from there.'_

Kurama turned, and again didn't see anything out of the ordinary.

"Hello there handsome," a voice purred in his ear. Kurama turned and locked gazes with deep violet eyes.

" Helloo..." he said blinking as an odd sensation swept over him. Suddenly his mind felt foggy; the world narrowed down to a pair of glowing violet eyes.

_'Kurama!_' Hiei swore as the fox's mind seemed to fog over. He could pick out bits and pieces from the  
confusing jumble but couldn't seem to penetrate through the fog.

"_Detective!_' Hiei's mental shout cut through his enjoyment of dancing with the petite professor. Yusuke flinched;

"Dammit," he swore, holding his head as of that would help the ringing.

_'What is it?_' He snarled back at the Jagan holder.

_'Kurama..._' Hiei said; Yusuke spun around just in time to see the smartest member of his team disappear out the back door.

"God dammit," he snarled, "Sorry Professor gotta go..."

Taisho was stunned as the detective took off toward the side door; shoving people out of his way.

"What the hell?"

"The red head just walked out with a woman," Shippo said, coming up behind her. "I think he was bait."

"If this was planned then why was Yusuke so frantic?" She asked making her way out of the club at a much more sedate pace.

Shippo grinned at his mother "Haven't a clue…. shall we follow them?"

"Suuuure..." she said, "I don't have anything planned for tonight..."

Shippo shifted; shedding his human form for one of feathers and talons. He took to the skies, the owl's sharp eyes easily piercing the darkness of the city. It didn't take long to spot the shadow flitting from building to building.

Taisho followed behind; her sharp eyes locked on the avian form above her. Soon they were out of the city limits and moving through the country side.

Hiei slide to a stop outside of a dark cave opening. He looked around; not for the first time feeling eyes on him. Yusuke stood a few feet away; eyeing the cave entrance.

They looked at the ground where there were clear impressions of boot prints going into the cave and the scent of roses still lingering in the air.

"This is a trap," Yusuke muttered,

"Hn," Hiei agreed even as they started forward. They didn't bother calling Koenma... what would the toddler-god do? It wasn't like he would risk his scrawny neck to save them. They were on their own; there was no other choice but to go after Kurama. If they didn't return, Kwabara would contact Reiki... than perhaps a search would be made for them. But that was only IF they didn't make it...

They moved cautiously into the darkness of the cave. The air grew wet and cold the deeper they went; their steps echoing off the cavern walls. After what felt like hours the cave seemed to open up into a vast cavern.

"I can't see a bloody thing," Yusuke muttered. Focusing his energy into the end of his index finger; a ball of light flickered into existence casting the cavern into deep shadows. They moved quietly; each sound seemed magnified within the cavern.

They heard something slide along the rocks in front of them.

"Kurama?" He whispered, the hair on the back of his neck rising. Again the sound whispered toward them from the darkness.

"Yusuke..." Kurama's voice whispered from the dark; sounding strained.

"Kurama!" Yusuke called the loud sound bouncing off the walls. He took several steps toward the sound.

"Detective!" Hiei hissed. Yusuke paused to look back at his friend; but a flash of red caught his attention. He turned back; he could barely see his friends form at the edge of his light.

"Kurama..." he said rushing forward; only to pull up short. Kurama's normally brilliant green eyes were fogged and unfocused; his movements jerky and he lacked his normal grace. "Kurama?"

"He belongs to me now," a voice whispered into his ear. Yusuke whirled and came face to face with glowing violet eyes.

Hiei felt Yusuke's mind go blank; same as Kurama's had at the club. He swore as his sword cleared its sheath. His eyes searched the gloom; the Jagan able to pierce the inky blackness far better than his normal eyes could.

He felt something move up behind him. He tensed.

"Hello there sweetness," a sultry voice purred in his ear. He spun, lashing out at the voice.

"Tsk tsk..." it purred, "that's no way to treat a lady..."

He glared at the figure as it sauntered into view. Fire flickered along the blade of his katana; casting the figure into shadows. A woman stood before him; clad in a skirt that only covered her nether regions. Gold chain wrapped around her waist and hung off of her shoulders. More gold wrapped around her breasts barely covering the ample mounds. Her skin seemed to glow with a golden sheen. Violet eyes locked with his and he felt power wash over him...even as the woman began laughing.

_**Yay...another chapter down... But wait... I have more... I was a busy busy little bee the last few days!**_


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I do not own IY or YYH

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 5:

Hiei shook his head and snarled at the witch in front of him. Violet eyes widened in shock as her prey cast off her spell. The woman hissed in annoyance; her power should be able to ensnarl even the most enamored male filling his mind with lust and robbing him of his will.

"Why won't it work!?" She shrieked. Hiei grinned, baring his fangs. He disappeared; able to see the woman easily now. He reappeared behind her; removing her head with a practiced swing.

Shrieks rent the air; bouncing off the walls. The sound bombarded his sensitive ears. He snarled in pain; resisting the urge to cover his ears.

"You pathetic little worm!" A voice hissed behind him. Hiei turned, instinctively leaping away from the voice. His eyes slide up a long serpentine body, to a humanoid torso and locked with golden reptilian eyes. Those eyes glowed white for a moment; suddenly Hiei felt his limbs grow heavy.

"Yes look at me..." serpents writhed and hissed upon her head; tiny fangs glinting in the darkness.

His katana slipped from leaden fingers. He had to look away but couldn't. The Jagan flared to life as the black dragon on his arm pulled against the bandages; both sensing his impending death and fighting for their own survival.

Suddenly a brilliant pink light filled the cavern like an explosion. The light blinded him; and the pained howls of the cavern dwellers echoed off the walls. Arms wrapped around him and he felt himself lifted. Several moments later he breathed in cool fresh air. He hissed as pain wracked his body; he tried to move but found that his limbs wouldn't respond. Finally his eyesight returned; stormy grey-blue eyes regarded him with concern.

"Are you alright?" She asked; behind her a green eyed kitsune watched him warily.

"Can't... move..." his hissed. She looked him over.

"It's a spell," she said, "a very old and powerful one. You're lucky... most are instantly turned to stone. The Jagan and the Dragon shielded you and are fighting against the spells effects."

She regarded him intently; "I can help...but you have to let me... And it's going to hurt... a lot."

"Do it..." he snarled through clenched teeth; he could already feel he was losing the battle and the prospect of being a statue for eternity did not appeal to him.

"Shippo..."

"I'll keep you safe;" the kitsune behind the professor promised, "work your magic mother."

Hiei had time to think, _'mother?_' Before he was engulfed in a pink glow. He clenched his jaw against the pain; it felt like he had been dropped into acid.

Both the dragon and the Jagan flared to life sensing another threat. He tried to reign them in but couldn't focus...

_'Let them..._' a soft voice whispered through his mind, _'if it will distract you from the pain'_

The Jagan needed no other prompting; sensing that the impenetrable shields the professor possessed had been lowered, it dove into her mind.

Images flashed before him. A young teenage girl in a green and white school uniform. A flash of blue... a silver haired teenager with pointed canine ears atop his head dressed in ancient red robes. A couple; a dark haired woman in a slayer uniform and a blue eyed monk in purple robes. Then a small kitsune kit that bore a striking resemblance to the older red haired kitsune he had seen moments before. Another flash...this time the image was wrapped in such loathing... a figure in a white baboon fur. Scenes of battles flashed before his mind's eye; dozens of various enemies... most were killed... some became allies... this girl was so like the detective in that regard.

Then the scenes slowed and he watched as the vile hanyou the girl and her friends had been fighting was cut down. The jewel whole and purified. Suddenly Koenma stood before the girl, Boton beside him; demanding the jewel. What need would Reiki have for a cursed jewel? He saw the girl's refusal and the horrible one sided battle. Her friends not only falling but disappearing all together. Then a flash of pink like an explosion going off. The girl found herself near the well that had played such a factor in her life... now lacking any magic. She crawled to her feet, white fur cloak falling around her form. Her hands tipped in talons. She stood on rubbery legs and surveyed her surroundings. Exhausted, she stumbled in the direction of the village. As she stumbled into the dark village she was met by an old priestess, the kit, and a snarling nekomata.

'Naraku!" The kit snarled even as the women drew an arrow. The girl looked at them startled;

Naraku? Where?

A shimmering blue arrow came whizzing through the air at her. Her hand shot up and caught the glowing weapon; her own power flaring and canceling out the power within the arrow.

'K..agome?" The kit called. She looked at him.

'Shippo?"

"Why do you smell like a demon?" He asked, 'and why are you wearing Naraku's baboon pelt?'

Startled she hurried over to the river edge and starred at the reflection that met her eyes. She WAS wearing Naraku's baboon pelt; she shoved the offending mask from her face and starred at her own reflection. Her brown eyes now were bleached a pale crystalline blue, her black hair was streaked with white. She looked back at Kaede and Shippo...

"What happened to me?" She asked brokenly.

"Child...what happened to ye?" Kaede asked, echoing her question. She told them of the battle with Naraku, their victory then defeat at the hands of the so called god of spirit world.

"It seems the jewel has chosen to save it's guardian," Kaede said," when ye wished for a way to prevent the Reiki lord of getting the jewel... it interpreted that wish how it wanted."

"I didn't say the wish aloud!" She cried.

The priestess patted her arm in sympathy; "I know child. The jewel is cursed...and now so are ye. Ye are now the jewel child. It has bound itself to ye; merging with ye to form this body...I can only assume that Midoriko's power and the demons that had been within the jewel have now become one with ye too."

"But...explain this?" She demanded, tugging at the white pelt that covered her form.

"I can only guess child," Kaede had said, "perhaps though...because his fate was bound to the jewel like ye's."

"You're telling me that I'm now some sort of half demon...and HE'S in here too?!" She screeched.

'Aye child," Kaede said, "though ye do not feel like a half demon..."

"You don't smell like a human at all, Kagome," Shippo said, "you smell of power like Sesshomaru does..."

"The jewel didn't make ye a half demon child," Kaede said, "it made you a daiyoukai...like InuYasha always wanted."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"

Suddenly Kilala transformed into her large battle form and roared a warning; red eyes fixated on something out past InuYasha's forest.

"Ye must go child," Kaede said, "they come for ye and ye alone. Go. Shield yourself... if ye do have Naraku somewhere inside... now would be the time to tap into his powers. His shields were undetectable. Quickly child... GO!'

They leap onto Kilala's back and sped off.

"Oh Shippo..." Kagome said, tears streaking her face. "What do we do now?"

Hiei woke with a start; hand instinctively going for his katana, only to find the blade missing.

"Looking for this?" A familiar feminine voice asked, his shealthed weapon in her hand. He glanced at the women across from him, now easily able to see through the illusion to the demoness beneath.

"Kagome..." he said, trying her name out on his tongue. She smiled.

"No one's called me by that for a very long time;" she said, "After the last time Reiki found me... I changed my name again. Only my old allies still call me 'Kagome'."

He took the katana from her out stretched hand and stood. He took a couple practice swings; satisfied that the stone spell was gone and he had full mobility again.

Ruby eyes met pale crystalline blue; "Why?" He asked, "You're a fool to think I will keep your secret if it will benefit me."

She smiled at the red-eyed demon; "I know," she said, "I can only hope that you will keep my secret, but I understand if you can't. I won't hold it against you."

Hiei glared at her; what was with these people giving him the benefit of the doubt? First Yusuke now her... one of these days they will learn that he wasn't someone they should trust.

"Where's the kitsune?" He asked, changing the subject. The demoness stood and brushed the dirt from her jeans.

"He'll be along shortly," she said, "Shippo acts as my eyes and ears. Illusion and stealth are his strong suites."

As if her words summoned him; the russet haired kitsune stepped from the shadows. Hiei hadn't even felt his presence. He handed the demoness a bag. She pulled out a compound bow and quiver. Followed by several long wicked curved knives.

"What was it that attacked us," he asked as the weapons disappeared onto various parts of her body.

"Well the things that ensnared your friends are succubi..."

"The demons that feed off of sex you mentioned earlier," he said, she nodded.

"Yes," she replied, "honestly I was expecting them... the fucking gorgon was unexpected."

"Gorgon?" Hiei asked, regarding Taisho like she has grown another head.

"Ever heard of Medusa?" She asked; Hiei gave her a droll look.

"Even I have heard of her," he replied.

"Well," Taisho said, "Medusa was a Gorgon."

"But she died..." Hiei said, "The detective and the oaf watched a movie on it not too long ago... some guy on a winged horse cut her head off."

"Yes, Medusa is dead," she said, "Little known fact... she had two sisters. You wanna know why Perseus chose Medusa to kill?"

He raised an eyebrow in question. He had a feeling that he wasn't going to like this.

Taisho grinned, "Medusa was the only one who was mortal."

"..."

"Yup," Taisho agreed, "my sentiments exactly."

"Do we have any semblance of a plan...?" Hiei demanded.

"How good of terms are you on with ol' pacifier breath?" Taisho asked. Hiei crossed his arms over his chest.

"I'd love to personally introduce him to my Dragon," He growled.

"Hn...Thought so..." she replied. "Next question..."

She paused, "know a good way into that vault of theirs?"

"You're kidding..." he stated, as the silence stretched. "Why would I want to do that?"

"So we can get something to kill an immortal?" She replied. Hiei shook his head. He knew every piece of treasure and weaponry in that vault.

"There's nothing in there that will do that," he replied.

"You sure?"

"Yes," he stated.

"Damn...guess that means I get to go with plan 'B'" she muttered.

"Which is?"

"Praying to Gods that don't give two shits about us that we can sneak down there without the occupants noticing." she replied, flipping the hood of the baboon pelt over her head. Hiei had to admit it was rather unnerving to be looking into the dark sockets; it took him a moment to see the pale blue hidden within the shadows.

"We need to kill the succubi," Taisho stated, "with them dead the spell will be broken. We just need to get your friends and get out. Try not to engage the Gorgons. We can deal with them later."

Hiei nodded. It wasn't much of a plan; but it was better than what they normally worked with. Yusuke wasn't really known for his strategic abilities.

"Oh and Hiei..." Taisho said, "Should you run into the Gorgon... don't look at her."

"Hn..."

"Good hunting," she said, "see you on the other side."

Then both she and the kitsune disappeared into the shadows; Hiei, a half second behind them.

He had to give them both credit; they were nearly as fast as he was and just as light on their feet. They ghosted down the cavern, just a trio of shadows. Even Taisho in her white pelt blended and disappeared from view.

They slowed as they reached the open cavern; the flickering orange glow of a fire gave them direction.

Yusuke couldn't move; his body wouldn't respond. It was worse than when Raizen took over his body; then he blacked out. Now he was trapped within; a silent participate in a demented puppet show.

The two remaining succubi were enjoying their conquests. He was currently laying spread across a bed, the violet eyed demoness on top of him; to any outside observer it would appear like he was very much a willing participant. He wanted to lash out at her; to knock her away and rip out her black heart... yet his body refused to do anything other than worship the female body above him.

A flash of silver across the room caught his eye; he recognized the flash of fire light along steel. Never had he been so glad to see the little fire demon. Nor had he ever seen such a blood thirsty grin on his friends face either. As the succubus shoved him back down onto the bed; Hiei struck. Yusuke watched with sadistic glee as the demoness's head tumbled from her body...then the body itself dissolved in pink flame.

The remaining succubus shrieked in fury; suddenly Yusuke felt his body climbing to its feet; Kurama joining him as they stood between Hiei and the last demon.

Both Kurama and he lunged at Hiei; the quick swordsman easily dodged their clumsy attack. He neither attacked nor retreated; just dodged their attacks as if he was waiting for something.

Hiei dodged another sloppy attack from Kurama; it was fortunate that these demons didn't realize the abilities of the two individuals it was using as puppets; and that said puppets were fighting against the hold the demon had on them. It made their attacks slow and jerky; not to mention lacking in any power.

Taisho moved silently through the shadows toward the demoness who was focused on the battle before her. Pitiful. Taisho almost felt sorry for her...

Almost.

She pounced on the unsuspecting demon; breaking her concentration and her hold on the two Reiki members. The golden skinned woman turned to look her in the eyes; her power slithering across Taisho's skin.

"Wrong gender bitch," she said as she shoved her hand through the demoness's chest and ripping her still beating heart out.

The darkness within her purred at the violence. The demoness' body tumbled backwards and burst into pink flames as she added a touch of her long unused miko powers.

Yusuke stumbled as the invisible strings moving him vanished. He collapsed to his knees as it took a moment for his brain to catch up with the fact that his body was under his own control again.

"Detective? Kurama?" Hiei asked, looking at both of them. They both nodded; climbing to their feet. Hiei gave a nod of acknowledgment.

"They're back," he said to someone behind them.

"I told you they would be," a familiar soft feminine voice said, "untrusting lil prick."

"Cocky onna," Hiei shot back.

Curious Yusuke turned to see who Hiei was bantering with so casually. He didn't know what he was expecting; but a figure wrapped in a white baboon pelt was NOT it.

"Naraku..." Kurama hissed, he had never fought the hanyou directly, having far more important concerns on his hands; but he remembered the vile creature... he was a being that was hard to forget. "I had heard you were killed..."

The face barely visible under the baboon mask gave him a twisted sarcastic smirk. "He was," the feminine voice said, "I took his pelt as a sort of...souvenir."

"Explain later," Hiei growled, he could have sworn he had heard scales sliding against rock. "Fox...Detective... can you move?"

"No problem," Yusuke muttered.

"Good," the lady in the baboon get-up said, "I believe we've worn out our welcome..."

"Move!" Hiei snarled disappearing into the cavern.

"Go!" The baboon snapped, shoving both Yusuke and Kurama to get them moving. Suddenly an inhuman shriek rent the air.

"Move it!" She snarled, "They've found the ashes..."

The soft sounds of scales across stone seemed to echo in the vast cavern. Furious shrieks rent the air; rapidly gaining on them. Something whizzed by her head and clattered across stone. Bitch at just shot at her... She paused long enough to draw an arrow and fire at the flash of movement behind them. Pink light glowed as the arrow flew through the air and struck the creature's shoulder. She didn't stay to see if her blessed arrow had actually done any damage; judging by the rapid sound of scales over stone, she guessed that all she had done was piss it off.

"Shippo!" She called, practically feeling the their pursuers breath on her neck.

Fire flared up behind her; high, hot and bright. Shrieks of fury followed; as the fire blocked their pursuit.

They didn't slow until they burst from the cave mouth into the clear predawn gloom. Still, Hiei and Taisho urged the two tired Reiki members onward; not stopping until they were within the city limits.

Once the adrenaline rush subsided Yusuke and Kurama were dead on their feet. Taisho and Shippo supported them as they walked; Hiei flitting ahead; leading them and watching for any signs of pursuit. He led them to Kurama's house; their unofficial base of operations.

Sensing their arrival Kwabara came flying out of the house.

"Where the hell have you been?" He growled, "You were supposed to be back hours ago! Koenma has been blowing up my communicator..."

Hiei glanced at the worried human; "apparently even demons are susceptible to a succubi's power." He stated.

Kwabara glanced at him as he moved to take Kurama from the Professor...

Wait...Professor?

_**YAY another chapter down! I hope ya'll enjoy it and don't skin me alive for the twist I through in there. Betcha weren't expecting that though huh? Well, tell me what you think! REVIEW! Even if you don't like it - though no Flames please. I'm all for constructive critism; but Flames will be laughed at. **_


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own IY or YYH

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 6

"What the hell are you doing' here Professor?" Kwabara asked his eyes getting wide and panicked.

Hiei noticed that once again; the Professor's human guise was back in place and Shippo had disappeared.

Taisho smiled at her panicking student; "easy Kwabara," she said, "honestly...you think I'd be able to teach mythology as well as I do without knowing a few...unique individuals?"

"Wha..." Kwabara looked at her with wide shocked eyes; then turned and took Kurama back to his room. Hiei led Taisho down to the guest room so she could deposit Yusuke onto the bed.

_'Now what?_' Hiei asked her, _'the oaf will tell Boton and Koenma you assisted us. He is unable the lie. When he does...they will want to meet you. Possibly even 'hire' you...'_

She regarded the demon in front of her and leaned against the door jam thinking. She knew that, thanks to Shippo's present left in Koenma's hallway, they could get into and out of Reiki should they need to. She also knew that unless she found out what 'P' was; she would never be able to finish her mission. She was so close to her objective… she could practically taste it. Five hundred years she had been patiently waiting and searching… now the answer was right before her. She was tempted to find Koenma and torture the information out of the bratty-godling.

She paused at that thought… She finally looked up and met the ruby gaze that was regarding her silently.

_'Let him tell,_' She said, _'Let's see if Koenma remembers me as clearly as I remember him…_'

Hiei starred at her for a moment, _'Did that demon melt your brain woman?'_ he demanded, _'I saw your memories… if they catch you then…_'

_'I know,_' she said, her mental voice soft, _'I'm tired though, Hiei, it's time to finish this once and for all.'_

_'What…?_' he demanded.

"Don't…" she said aloud, interrupting his train of thought, _'I appreciate your concern, I do… more than I could possibly express… but this isn't your fight_.'

Kwabara watched the mental conversation being held between his usually irritable, silent team member and his professor. He never would have guessed that she had been involved in the supernatural. He certainly hadn't expected her to become involved when he asked her a simple question about demons…that was for sure. Yet, here she was; having a conversation via telepathy with most antisocial person of their group. How the hell did she manage that?

She suddenly spoke, her voice to soft for him to hear; but whatever she said made Hiei snarl and storm away. How….bizarre?

Hiei rarely ever displayed his emotions; though out of anything distain and rage were the most common. Yet… Kwabara didn't feel anger off of Hiei…or rather... he didn't JUST feel anger. He felt…concern?

For the Professor?

_What the hell?_

Kwabara was forced to stay home for one mission and not only do two of his teammates come back worse for wear, but his human Professor was involved and Hiei was acting concerned for her?!

"The world is about to end," he muttered, "That's the only thing that makes sense. Obviously Hell had frozen over and the world is coming to an end."

Yusuke woke slowly; he ached all over almost like someone had worked him over with a bat. Cautiously he sat up; he instantly recognized the room as the 'guest' room at Kurama's house. How did he get there?

He had a foggy memory of Hiei….and someone in…white...fur?

Damn but his head hurt; reminding him of back in his human days when he'd get drunk with Kwabara on the weekends and woke up with a killer hangover.

Grabbing the extra set of clothes he kept in the closet for just such occasions; Yusuke dragged himself to the bathroom. The hot water felt wonderful on his tired muscles and cleared his head…. Only to wish it hadn't. He picked up the soap and cloth and proceeded to scrub his skin until it was red and sore as memories from the previous night came back. He wanted to scrub all the skin from his body… then maybe he would feel at least a little clean.

"They've been in there an awful long time," Kwabara said, as both showers in the house were going on their hour mark, "I can't imagine that they were THAT dirty…"

"I doubt what they are trying to wash off has anything to do with actual dirt," Hiei stated, running his sharpening stone along the length of his katana.

"Huh?" Kwabara looked at him in confusion. Hiei rolled his eyes,

"Just leave it alone, idiot," he said, without his usual heat. "If they want to talk about it, they will."

Both the Detective and the Fox were resilient; they were bound back from this blow to their pride, it would just take some time to come to terms with it.

Kwabara glared at the shorter male; he wanted to argue. He knew something had happened; and that it obviously wasn't pleasant… but at the same time… instinct told him that for once he should listen to Shorty, and leave it alone. If something did happen; Yusuke and Kurama would deal with it. He'd be there if they needed him; even if they didn't ask. But unless they said something to him about it; he'd follow Hiei's advice and let it go.

Yusuke climbed out of the icy shower; the hot water having disappeared long ago. He felt better, more alert… and more like HIM. He pulled on his clothes and walked into the living room; where he was surprised to find both Kwabara AND Hiei. The world had to be ending… Hiei never voluntarily came inside much less to SIT in the same room with Kwabara unless it was….. He stopped for a moment and heard the tell-tale sound of rain on the roof. A quick glance out a window showed that there was a hard, steady rain falling outside. That explained it then; crisis averted. Thank goodness... the world wasn't ending quite yet.

"There's pizza in the fridge!" Kwabara called as he flipped the channel on the TV. Yusuke snagged a slice and walked back into the room.

"So, how'd we get back here?" he asked, "It's kinda a hazy blur…"

"Hiei and the Professor brought ya'll back," Kwabara replied. Yusuke noticed a slight pause in the steady movement of Hiei's sharpening stone.

"Professor Taisho?" he said, "She helped us back?"

"Yea... and some red-haired kid…." Kwabara said, taking a bite of his own pizza.

Brown eyes slide over to the smaller fire apparition.

"And what exactly was Professor Taisho doing here?" he asked.

Hiei didn't even bother to glance at him; just kept moving the stone across his blade. Again Kwabara piped up;

"Apparently demons aren't a new thing for her," he said around a mouthful of pizza.

"Is that so?" Kurama's voice came from behind him. The red-head was regarding Hiei quietly as he rolled the sleeves of his pink shirt up. Only Kurama could wear such a girly color and make it still work…

"Nothing to add Hiei?" Kurama asked. Hiei paused in his task and regarded the fox. He was strangely reluctant to share his information about the petite demoness with his teammates. It wasn't sure why, exactly, it was something he had been contemplating all morning. He had decided to tell them; yet when the time came… he was reluctant to do so.

Yusuke watched the internal struggle as Hiei debated on what to tell them about the woman. He barely could contain his shock; what the hell had happened to make feel any sort of loyalty toward her?

"Let me rephrase," Kurama said as the silence stretched on into awkward. "Is she a threat?"

The fire demon shook his head, "Not unless threatened."

"So what's her name?" Yusuke asked, "Or am I supposed to keep calling her Professor?"

"That is acceptable," Hiei replied, "Or Taisho if you must."

"Wow," Yusuke muttered, "You've really taken a shine to this woman haven't you?"

"She saved my life at great risk of her own," he replied with a shrug, returning to sharpening his katana.

"Huh? Really?"

Hiei didn't bother to answer the question; he wasn't one to repeat himself.

"Perhaps you could tell us what happened, Hiei?" Kurama suggested. Hiei slide the sharpening stone down his blade a couple more times; enough that his teammates had decided he wasn't going to answer, than wiped the blade clean and slide it back into its sheath.

"It wasn't just the Succubi down in the cavern, like you thought" he stated, looking at Kurama, "there was another…possibly more. Taisho called them 'Gorgons',"

"Gorgons?" Kurama interrupted, "But legend had it Medusa was slain…"

Hiei regarded the fox silently for a moment; "Apparently, she had sisters," he stated, "I killed one of the Succubi... Only to be met by the Gorgon. Taisho arrived then; healing me of the spell that would have turned me to stone…then she assisted me in rescuing you."

"The demon in the baboon pelt…?" Yusuke said aloud, and his memory supplied him the image of the strange creature he had seen.

Kwabara glanced at him; "Demon? That can't be, the Professor is human."

"It's an illusion, oaf," Hiei stated, "and a good one."

"A new demon huh? Fascinating!" Boton's overly cheerful voice shouted from behind him. Yusuke jumped; startled at the loud sound.

"BOTON! WHAT THE HELL?!" He bellowed.

"Really Yusuke, is that necessary?" Boton replied, rubbing her ear and looking, otherwise, unperturbed at the murderous gleam in the detective's eyes. "Tell us more about this demoness… is she pretty?"

Hiei stood, and walked away… effectively ending the conversation.

"Thanks Boton," Yusuke growled, "Now we'll never know what happened. It took us nearly an hour just to get that little bit out of him and you had to barge in and piss him off!"

"Oh, come off it," she said, "I just asked if she was pretty…"

"Hiei is very reluctant to give up any information about this woman," Kurama said, softly. "I believe he feels indebted to her, since she saved his life and ours too."

"Really?" Boton said,

"Yea, she was the one who gave us the information on the demons who were kidnapping those guys," Kwabara stated.

"She was?" she asked, then, "Wait you found the men?"

"No…" Kurama corrected, "We found the demons… there were some…complications, however."

"Complications?" Boton parroted, "What do you mean?"

"It means we got our asses owned by a couple of demons; Hiei and the Professor had to come save us. So we didn't exactly GET a chance to look for the men; if they are still there."

"Oh...ok… so you'll just go back and find them later?" Boton replied, smiling brilliantly at them.

"Uuuuuh, no…" Yusuke said, "There's more of a complication…"

"More?"

"Yea…. Apparently there is at least one Gorgon down there too…." Yusuke said, with a shrug.

"A gorgon?" Boton asked, "What's a Gorgon?"

Taisho wasn't surprised when she felt the fire demons energy outside her house window. Reluctantly, she left her warm fire and walked over to open the window.

"Come in, Hiei," she called, returning to her chair.

"The Reiki woman knows about you," Hiei stated; not quite sure why he had come to warn this strange demoness. It was odd; but he felt almost a kindred spirit within the female. Life had dealt her a hand; much like it had him. Both had to fight for every breath they took. He had seen her life with his own eyes… she was now just as much a 'Forbidden Child' as he was. Forever cursed to be a mixture of two things that never should have been combined.

She regarded the sullen demon as he stood dripping on her floor. "Hiei, why don't you come warm yourself by the fire? Being soaking wet can't be comfortable."

He strode forward, enjoying the sudden warmth of the fire as it dried his cloak. The silence stretched; for the first time in his life, Hiei had the oddest inclination to…apologize to this woman.

"I…"

"Don't, Hiei," she said, smiling at him, "There's nothing to say. We knew Reiki would find out. How much do they know?"

"Only that you're a demoness called Taisho and a Professor of Mythology at the University," Hiei stated, "That you have powerful illusions that hide your demon energy and that you assisted in the rescue of three Reiki detectives."

Taisho smiled at him, and stood; he tensed when she came to stand next to him as he starred into the flames.

"You don't owe me anything, Hiei," she said, "Why are you here?"

"….."

She smiled, "Since they already know about me, I might as well return to the house with you. There is still the matter of the Gorgon's to deal with."

"It's not your concern," he stated, "There is no reason to get involved anymore then you already have."

"True…" she replied, "But I've grown rather fond of all of you…I'd hate to find out how pretty you all look as statues."

"This is exceedingly foolish, onna," Hiei restated, glancing at her. Pale eyes smiled down at him;

"I know," she replied, "Trust me…I know..."

_**Wow look at me Lil miss dedicated here... another chapter! Go me! We're in the home stretch! Hopefully I'll be able to finish this up within the next week. I hope you're enjoying reading this as much as I am writing it. Please REVIEW!**_


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own IY or YYH

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 7:

Yusuke felt Hiei return and was surprised when he felt energy with him; both familiar…and yet strange. Curious and impatient; he went an opened the front door. Hiei stood at the base of the stairs; steam rising off of him as the water evaporated as it landed. Yusuke was surprised to see Professor Taisho walking down the path; a clear plastic umbrella shielding her from the rain. She paused next to Hiei; and Yusuke somehow knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that they were speaking telepathically. Then, Taisho was walking up the stairs, closing and shaking out her umbrella; Hiei following behind her.

"Professor," Yusuke said with a grin, suddenly remembering their dance the night before.

Taisho gave him a sultry grin; "Nice to see you back to your normal lecherous self, Detective."

"So you're the Professor they were talking about!" an overly cheerful voice said from behind Yusuke. She noticed Yusuke and Hiei both cringed at the volume of the woman's voice. She schooled her features into a mask of cool indifference as she faced the Reiki Reaper. She smiled politely;

"And you must be Boton," she stated, "Hiei mentioned you."

"Really?" Boton said, "I'm surprised… he's normally not that talkative."

Taisho gave her a smile, "Really? Odd, granted I haven't known him long, but he doesn't seem to have a problem talking to me…perhaps it's a lack of decent conversation," she replied in a voice as sweet as poisoned honey.

Yusuke blinked in surprise; was it just him or did the Professor really NOT like Boton?

_'Kagome,_' Hiei's amused mental voice cautioned, _'Your fangs are showing_.'

He felt her smile; a motion that was completely predatory rather than friendly. Movement behind them drew her attention as Kwabara came into the room. He regarded his teacher quietly;

"You're a demon?" he asked, "You lied to me."

She blinked up at the taller male; "Lied to you?" she replied, "Sweetie, I didn't LIE to you. In order to LIE to you, you would have had to specifically ask me if I was a demon…which you didn't. So I couldn't technically LIE to you… I simply neglected to mention an aspect of my personal life. It's not like you TOLD me you worked with demons… I had to figure that little tidbit out for myself."

Kurama had to hide a smirk behind his hand at the dumb founded look on Kwabara's face; Yusuke didn't bother to hide his mirth.

"How do you know so much about this case?" Boton asked. There was something about this woman that bothered her. It didn't help any that Hiei was so protective over her; granted there was no love loss between the fire apparition and herself… then there was Yusuke's obvious attraction. His eyes hadn't strayed from the Professor since she stepped foot into the room. "And more importantly, how is it you're in the Ningenkai in the first place?"

Taisho leveled a cool stare at the Reiki reaper; "I'm a Professor of Mythological Studies, of course I have some knowledge of this case since it deals with mythical creatures. I thought we covered that already?"

She glanced at Hiei; the shorter demon shrugged; "They were told, I can't be held responsible for them not listening."

"Far enough," she replied. "As for your second question; I got permission, of course."

"Well then perhaps you'd care to explain what a Gorgon is?"

"There are a couple different legends; in one the gorgons are the daughters of the primordial sea god and goddess Phorcys and Ceto. In another legend Medusa and her two sisters; Stheno and Euryale were followers of Athena. One day Poseidon saw Medusa and and desired her beauty. He raped her in Athena's temple; her two sisters unable to do anything but watch. Furious Athena curses Medusa and her sisters. She turned them into snake-like monsters so hideous that looking upon them will turn the viewer to stone. In legends, Medusa was killed by the demigod Perseus. However, most forget the reason that Perseus killed her rather than her siblings…. Medusa was mortal. Stheno and Euryale are not."

"Athena was the one who cursed them?" Kurama said, more a statement then an actual question; "Then perhaps the fact that the only man who didn't fit into the pattern was indeed unique. They somehow found out that he was Athena's companion."

"Athena cursed Medusa? When she was the one who was raped?" Boton exclaimed indignantly, "How is that fair?"

"Life is rarely 'fair';" Taisho stated, "And such is the way of Gods. They care least of all for things that are 'fair'."

"So…how do we kill them so we can find the kidnapped men?" Boton asked.

"Can we use a mirror? Make them look at themselves?" Kwabara said, "I think I saw that in a movie once."

Taisho smiled, "That is the theory," she replied, "However good luck putting it to use."

"Why? What do you mean?"

"These beings are thousands of years old," Taisho stated, "Don't you think that maybe someone at SOME point in all those years, probably tried that exact same idea? These sisters are powerful. Both are renowned for their archery abilities. Not to mention that they are gigantic half-snake bodies and have all the perks that go alone with being half snake. Their bite is poisonous; they're fast, and who knows what else."

"You saying we can't do it?" Yusuke demanded; Taisho regarded him defiantly.

"I'm saying only a fool would do it," she replied, "Whatever your reason had better be damn good. Worth being turned to a statue for all eternity. Your soul doesn't leave, since you're technically not dead. It's bound to the sculpture until it's broken."

"You can reverse the spell though, right?" Boton said happily, "They said that's how you and Hiei were acquainted…"

Taisho gave her a droll look, "Hiei was a special case and it's a testament to the sheer power and stubbornness he and his companion energies possesses that he wasn't turned. Plus, he was luck and didn't actually look full at the Gorgon; he just barely got clipped by the spell. There's no guarantee that I'd be able to help any of you like I was able to help him."

"Companion energies?" Boton muttered; Taisho rolled her eyes.

"The Jagan and Dragon," she said, giving Boton a look that clearly said she thought the Reiki reaper was ninety-pounds of stupid.

"So what weapon can we use to kill them?" Kwabara asked, looking at Boton. "Surely there is something in the Vault?"

"A vault?" Taisho asked innocently, Hiei was the only one who noticed the wicked gleam in her eyes. What could she possibly want from the vault?

"Yes…" Boton said hesitantly, "Reiki has a Vault where we store magical artifacts and weapons."

"Really?" the Professor stated, "What exactly do you have in there?"

"Uh….um…."

"C'mon Boton," Yusuke said, "We'll go ask Koenma. There's got to be SOMETHING in that vault that can take care of two nasty immortal snake monsters."

Boton quickly nodded and opened a portal; everyone stepped through. Taisho hung back; suddenly leery of walking so boldly into the enemy stronghold. _Just stay calm,_ she told herself, _and stick to the plan._

"You coming, Professor?" Yusuke asked, as he paused in front of the portal.

"I'm invited?" she replied, the detective grabbed her wrist and pulled her through.

"Yes, you are," he whispered into her ear. Before them sat a large oak desk covered in paperwork. Behind the desk sat a toddler, who looked no older than five, who was busy stamping papers.

"Koenma sir," Boton said cheerfully. Taisho felt her eyes widen, she had called him a toddler-god before; but she had done that out of spite. She hadn't realized it was true. She had only ever seen the Reiki deity when he looked like a teenager.

"Please tell me that all this time, Reiki hasn't been run by a baby?" she muttered, eyes wide. Hiei glanced at her look of utter disbelief and gently nudged her.

"Nope," Yusuke said with a grin.

"Oh thank goodness," she replied, Yusuke laughed.

"Oh no, it's run by Koenma, and he is a baby…"Yusuke stated, glancing at her, "I was talking about someone actually running Reiki…. Cause that's a joke!"

"Shut it Urameshi!" The baby said around his pacifier. "Now why are you in here bothering me? I have things to do!"

"Um…we need to get into the vault." Boton said, "We need to see if there is something in there that can kill the Gorgon's so we can finish this mission and tell Athena what happened to her companion."

Koenma sucked furiously on his pacifier for several moments. "Fine, follow me."

Hiei and Kurama exchanged looks; the last time they had been in the vault they had ended up being arrested and placed in indentured servitude. And now Koenma was just leading them down there? Amazing.

Taisho followed the Reiki lord; her illusion seemed to be working. Koenma hadn't even noticed she was with the group. She saw a flash of green against Koenma's boot and grinned. It seemed like everything was falling in place… She hated that she would have to do this to her new friends; but… her mission came first. Once that was done, her debt would be paid, the wrong will have been righted and she would be free to live her life as she wanted. No one, not Koenma, not Enma, not the sweet Yusuke Urameshi; no one was going to stop her either.

They followed Koenma into a large, heavily sealed room. Though, Hiei noticed, that there weren't any more wards on it now than there had been all those years ago when Kurama and he had broken in.

Everyone filed past Koenma as he started looking for the Vault manifest. Taisho could feel the power of the objects within the room.

"Wow," Yusuke said, looking at the different objects. She had to agree with him; who would have thought that so many of the ancient artifacts of the world would end up here in Japan of all places? She wondered if the other pantheons realized their artifacts were all stored together.

Taisho shook her head, "all this power, in one room…" she whispered, "and only those weak crappy wards? How had no one ever broken in here?"

"Hn," Hiei replied, "We did."

Taisho glanced back at him, "That's right," she muttered, "You and the fox did break in…"

"Yea….wait…" Yusuke's head snapped around to look at her, "How do you know that?"

Taisho wasn't paying him any attention though; a cream color had caught her attention against the wall. Could it be?

She shifted the stuff out of the way; a six foot long demonic bone boomerang leaned against the wall covered in a thick layer of dust. "Hiraikotsa…" she whispered, "Sango….."

Yusuke watched has Taisho reached out and hesitantly touched the ancient weapon; her face stricken and eyes filling with tears.

She gently touched the weapon; running her hand almost lovingly down its smooth face. Images of her friend carefully tending the monster boomerang filled her head. Beside it, something pulsed… the energy was as familiar to her as the Jewels.

"It can't be…." She muttered, shoving a large table out of her way. There, leaning against the wall were three swords she never thought she would see again.

Hiei edged forward, unease sliding down his spine at the look on her face as she stared at the three ancient swords. "Taisho…?"

"It doesn't look like we have anything…." Koenma said, looking up from his reading. The four detectives were standing in a semicircle around a woman starring at three ancient swords.

"Who's that?" he asked, Boton glanced at him.

"Who? Her?" she said, "That's Professor Taisho… a demon who's been helping the guys…"

Taisho…Taisho…. Why did that name sound familiar? It sent warning bells off in his head…

He watched as she reached out to touch the sword he recognized as the Tessaiga…

"Don't touch that!" he yelled. Taisho didn't listen; the sword called to her like an old friend. The only solid evidence that InuYasha had ever existed was sitting right there inches from her fingers. She wrapped her hand around the hilt of the blade. The barrier crackled against her hand; rejecting her demonic energy.

"Easy old friend," she whispered, "Don't you remember me?"

Koenma watched in growing horror as the demoness closed her hand around the ancient weapons hilt. Lightning crackled around her as the sword protested her demon heritage; then… a pulse of pure unadulterated holy power filled the room.

She regarded Koenma with cold pale blue crystalline eyes… eyes that had forever been etched into his memory centuries ago.

"Honestly Koenma," she said, unsheathing what appeared to be a dull dented sword, "Did you really think InuYasha's fang wouldn't recognize ME?"

"You…." Koenma hissed; as the name suddenly clicked. 'Taisho'...'the General'... the name of the long dead Dog Demon that rules over the Western lands and father to the two traitious brothers... Sesshomaru and the half-demon InuYasha... Which could mean only one thing... this... demon who possessed holy powers...was the blasted guardian he had been chasing for the last five centuries...

Yusuke stepped back as he looked from Taisho to Koenma and back. Behind Koenma, Boton's eyes were wide and terrified.

"What's going on?" Kwabara asked, looking between Koenma and his Professor. Taisho slid the swords sheath into her belt; the dented old blade held casually over her shoulder. She reached down and grabbed the other two blades.

"These don't belong to you," she said casually, "I'll ask this only once, where are their owners?"

"Bitch…" Koenma snarled, "Why can't you listen like a good little priestess and give us what we wanted?"

"Because it didn't belong to you either, thief," she replied.

"Time out…" Yusuke yelled, "What the fuck is going on?"

"Five hundred years ago, Koenma tried to take something that didn't belong to him," Hiei said, arms crossed over his chest, "An ancient artifact of such power that it would increase the holders power tenfold…a jewel…"

"The Shikon-no-Tama…." Kurama breathed, stunned; he remembered hearing tales of the Shikon-no-Tama.

"Indeed…" Taisho said, "The jewel can never be used for good. It is cursed. The only safe place it will ever be…is in the hands of its guardian. Me."

"Kagome Higurashi…." Boton whispered from behind Koenma, eyes over flowing with tears. She had known trying to take the jewel from the miko had been a bad idea. She had tried to warn Koenma then… but he hadn't listened. His father wanted the jewel; so Koenma had set out to get it. It was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong… and now… now it had come to bite them on the ass.

Yusuke heard the name whispered through the room; Taisho gave a small smile as the illusion around her seemed to dissolve. Her human appearance faded leaving a tall, proud demoness behind. Yusuke gapped; she had been beautiful as a human… now she was stunning.

"You planned this," Boton said suddenly, "That's why you suggested the Vault…."

Taisho…no Kagome….smiled flashing fangs; "Honestly I was just curious…. I hadn't expected you to bring me here. Who knew that Reiki was so fucking stupid? Do the other Pantheons know about all their artifacts you have hidden here?"

Boton's words slowly sank in and Yusuke felt like he had been kicked in the gut; used…. He had been used to get into Reiki and too Koenma.

"All this time," he growled, "You knew who we were…"

Kagome glanced at the irate detective, "I knew what you were the second you stepped into my classroom Yusuke. Before you left I figured out who you worked for."

"You were just using us…" he snarled. She gave him a cool look;

"Remind me again," she said, "Who saved who from being consumed by demons and turned into a statue for eternity?"

Yusuke lunged; his temper overriding his common sense. Kagome turned holding Tessaiga in front of her. Before their eyes the ancient battered sword transformed into a large, glinting fang nearly twice the length of the original weapon. Yusuke hit the sword; his energy crackling against the blade. Pain filled blue eyes regarded him silently from the other side of the weapon before he was flung against the opposite wall.

Kagome felt a small part of her heart break at Yusuke's fury over her apparent betrayal. He had every right to be angry; she had used him. Granted, she had been as surprised as anyone at at being brought to the vault and than finding her friends old weapons; but that didn't change the fact that she had planned on confronting Koenma anyway, and technically she had used them to gain access into Reiki.

Kurama and Kwabara both manifested their weapons; intent on attacking the demoness.

"Boton! Get the…" Koenma turned to order his reaper away; his eyes widened at the strange kitsune behind him; an unconscious Boton in his arms.

"I don't think so," the kitsune snarled, "Mother has questions for you…"

Kurama whirled as a blast of kitsune magic filled the air; there weren't that many kitsune's left alive. Especially not ones as old and powerful as this one was.

"BOTON!" Yusuke froze as the orange-haired demon held her; Yusuke's eyes blazed.

Suddenly Kwabara, Kurama and Hiei were thrown against the wall along with Yusuke. An iridescent pink orb closed around them. Yusuke slammed against the barrier and hissed as his shoulder sizzled and burned.

"It's pointless Detective," Hiei said, "It's a miko barrier. We aren't going anywhere."

The Kitsune walked over and tossed the limp form of Boton through the barrier straight at Yusuke; who caught her automatically. The two strange demons circled Koenma… Blue fire crackled along the door to the vault; no one would be getting in.

"Where are the sons of the Great Inu no Taisho: InuYasha and Sesshomaru of the Western lands, the Wolf demon Prince of the Eastern Tribe called Kouga, The monk Miroku and the Taijiya Sango?" Kagome asked; voice frigid.

"You'll find out soon enough," Koenma stated, "S.D.F. will hunt you down like the dogs you are."

Kagome laughed; a hard, malicious sound that had a certain unstable edge to it. The sound sent a shudder down Yusuke's spine. Suddenly; she had Koenma by the throat, claws sinking into his skin…

"Let them come," she snarled, "I'll kill them same as I killed the others you sent against me over the years."

She slammed Koenma down onto the floor hard enough to crack the marble; "And only InuYasha and Sesshomaru were dogs. Kouga's a wolf. My companion here is a Fox and thanks to you... I don't have a clue what I am." she added with a vicious smile. She held out her hand, the kitsune places a small golden stake into it.

"You know what this is, god-ling?" she asked, turning the item over so the light glinted off the point. "This was a gift from a dear friend in Egypt. It's said to be able to contain the power of a god…. Shall we try it?"

She shoved Koenma's arm against the ground and slammed the golden stake through his hand. Koenma screamed as pain burned through his arm. He didn't even notice when they held down the other arm and slammed the stake home. Liquid fire seemed to course through his body. Twice more he was nailed to the floor as Kagome forced stakes through both ankles.

Yusuke looked away; unable to watch as the woman he had begun to fall into serious like with…. Slowly tortured his boss. Granted, there were times he had wanted to kill Koenma too… but…damn….

Slowly the initial pain seemed to recede; panting hard, Koenma starred up into the cold crystalline eyes of the five hundred year old miko-demon.

"Answer my question, Koenma," she said softly, "Where are they? I know they aren't dead… you put them somewhere…. I want to know where. Where is this 'P' they were sentenced to?" She held up a copy of the files he had long ago hidden in his office.

"It was you," he wheezed, "It was you that broke into my office."

In one swift motion Kagome unsheathed Bakusaiga and slammed the sword into the god-lings stomach hard enough she felt the blade bite into the marble beneath them. Koenma, unused to such pain, howled.

The noise woke Boton; who scrambled to her feet, eyes wide.

"What is 'P'," Kagome snarled, "Or the next time I add miko power to it and let it slowly eat you from the inside out…We'll test the theory that Gods are simply glorified demons..."

"Purgatory!" Boton shouted, as Koenma refused to answer. The glowing claws paused; as pale eyes fastened on her, eerily calm and rational.

"Purgatory?" Kagome growled, "That doesn't make any damn sense…"

"It's…it's not the same place from Catholic dogma..." Boton said, "It's a place guarded by two guardians. That's all I know…."

"Elaborate," she said; her voice cold and calm. Koenma glared at her

"You'll never find it," he snapped, "And even if you could… you'll never get to them. You'll be frozen the same as everyone else is… just another statue for their garden."

Kagome starred at him in utter disbelief. All this time, and the answer had been less than two hours run from Tokyo? She had JUST been there… dragging the sorry excuses of Detectives out of that lair….

She began to laugh; it was too ironic…

"No wonder they are here instead of in their home country," she laughed, "It didn't make sense… why would those two take up residence here of all places? They've been guarding those who you want to forget! It was only by chance that they met the succubi...if they hadn't needed to go out hunting we NEVER would have been able to find them!"

"You know where they are?" the kitsune asked. Kagome grinned at her son;

"We've already been there once," she said with a grin, "Grab the weapons. We're about to have company."

Sure enough, they could hear a ruckus on the other side of the door. It appeared that S.D.F. had been called after all.

"That wall leads outside," Shippo stated, pointing to the far wall, "Kilala will be waiting."

"Perfect,' Kagome said, she as she wiped off and sheathed Bakusaiga and once again unsheathed Tessaiga. "Let's see if I remember how he did this…"

Yusuke watched as once again the sword transformed into the giant blade; he could feel power building as she swung the sword, almost casually. He leapt back as four blades of energy ripped through the floor and exploded the wall outward.

"Wow," Boton muttered beside him; "I forgot how impressive that sword was…"

The kitsune grabbed the large boomerang Kagome had been admiring earlier and headed for the new exit. They moved fluidly to the hole in the wall and leapt off; disappearing from view seconds after the opposite wall exploded inward and S.D.F. charged in.

Moments later the barrier around the detectives vanished. Yusuke stormed over to the gaping hole in the wall. There was no sign on the two fugitives.

S.D.F. freed Koenma and hurried him to the infirmary; several members of S.D.F. leapt through the hole in pursuit. Soon the room was empty save for the four detectives and one shocked reaper behind.

"Boton," Yusuke said; his voice hard, "What's going on?"

Boton swallowed hard.

"Tell him," Hiei growled, ruby eyes narrowed, "Tell him what started this… explain to him what you did."

Kurama looked at Hiei sharply, "You know…"

Yusuke jerked and stared at his teammate. "That's why you were so reluctant to speak to us about her," Kurama continued, "You knew she was at war with Reiki…"

Hiei didn't respond; his eyes locked on Boton. She could see the accusation in his eyes.

"He's right," she said, softly, "It is our fault. Enma wanted the Shikon no Tama. We don't know why; Koenma never asked. He just went to retrieve it from the Guardian… a time-traveling miko by the name of K-Kagome Higurashi. They had just defeated their arch enemy, a half-demon named Naraku, and were trying to figure out what to do with the jewel. Koenma demanded that they hand it over. When Kagome refused; we attacked. They were horribly outnumbered; still they all fought to defend her...their priestess. Each one of them fell and was taken away until only Kagome was left. Somehow, the Jewel reacted to Koenma trying to take it. The girl vanished; reappearing miles away. She kept on the move… but Koenma was relentless those first few centuries. When we did catch up to her; she wasn't human any longer. She was the demon you just saw…. Less cold and more confused though. Koenma sent team after team for her…anyone who was caught helping her was killed. It was horrible. So many innocent people died because of Enma's greed. At first, she always returned the team alive…normally bound and gagged. Enma took it as a grave insult and pushed Koenma harder to find her; no matter the cost. When it was discovered that the wolf tribes were sheltering her… Enma ordered the newly formed S.D.F. to kill them… all of them. Men, women, pups…. Wiped out. In one massive strike they decimated the Tribes…. It was horrible." Tears streamed down the reapers face as she shook her head; still the images of the lifeless bodies of young children haunted her. "After that…. Everything changed. No longer were our teams returned alive… Kagome seemed to drop off the face of the earth; for centuries we couldn't find her. Rumors of an underground group that opposed Reiki began to surface… lead by someone referred to simply as 'the General'"

"Taisho…" Kurama said; Boton nodded.

"It would seem so," she agreed, "We always suspected it was the priestess, but everyone we sent to investigate was returned to us in multiple boxes. When the worlds split, the rumors died down a bit; but there were still instances of strong demonic energies crossing the barrier. Again, we never caught them… we lost a lot of Spirit Detectives investigating those cases."

Yusuke glowered at the hole in the wall; trying to sort out what he was feeling. He sympathized with the priestess Kagome; heh could even understand her fury… Yet… he still felt betrayed. Knowing didn't help the fact that she had used him to further her agenda.

Movement to his left caught his attention; Hiei was heading toward the hole in the wall.

"Where are you going?" He asked, Hiei glanced at him over his shoulder, but didn't say a word.

"You're going after her," Kurama said, a statement more than a question. Again silence from the male korime.

"Why?" Yusuke snarled, "She used us to get what she wanted. The only reason I can think to go after her is to arrest her. In fact… that sounds like a wonderful idea…"

"You would add to her suffering?" Hiei said, his voice quiet, yet hard. Yusuke paused, hands clenched into fists.

"Do you honestly think she ENJOYED what she's had to do? What she's become?" Hiei said, his voice quiet, "She did what she had to do to SURVIVE. Are you so different? Are any of us, so different?"

"I've never used anyone to further my own agenda," Yusuke growled.

"Then you and, probably, Kwabara are the only ones," Kurama stated. "Hiei has a point Yusuke… I know you were fond of the woman, but she has had this mission for five HUNDRED years…. Could you honestly ask her to abandon it? If they were your friends… would you?" Yusuke jerked his head around at Kurama's words. "Think about it Yusuke," he continued, "Put yourself in her shoes… would anything have stood in your way if you were trying to get to your friends? To protect them? How many demons have you killed to defend Keiko, your mom...us? How much of your fight with Toguro was you wanting revenge?"

Yusuke glared at the marble floor; unable to refute anything the kitsune at just said.

"Both Hiei and I have done terrible things in the name of survival and revenge;" Kurama went on, "How can I possibly condemn her…when I have done things just as terrible, if not worse."

"If it makes you feel better, Yusuke," Boton said softly, "She obviously likes you…."

He snorted, "How in the world did you get that idea…?"

"You're still alive…" she said, "She's known for a week that you were Spirit Detectives… she could have left you to the succubi… she had access into Reiki… her and that Kitsune had been in Koenma's office a few days ago… before you all went hunting. Yet, she saved Hiei and then went back for you. Then here, when everything was unveiled and you attacked her…. She still didn't kill you. She could have… with her powers she could have purified you completely… instead; she just got you out of the way. Hell her barrier even shielded us from the explosion the S.D.F. caused."

Yusuke sighed, and looked at Boton; "Even you're defending her actions?"

Boton looked at him with haunted eyes; "No….but I understand why she did what she did…We've wronged her in so many ways Yusuke… she will never be able to have the life she was supposed to have. Because of what we did… her fate…her destiny was changed."

"Forever cursed," Hiei said, regarding his stubborn, hard headed teammate, "She is both demon AND miko… she is something that never should have been…" Hiei shook his head. How could he possibly explain what it felt like to be hated for something you had no choice in? How could he explain what he felt like to fight constantly just to keep your sanity as the two opposing forces inside of you waged war?

"I'm going after her," He said finally, "I owe her, much like I owed you Detective…" then in a rare moment of openness, ruby and chocolate gazes met; "She needs me far more than you do, Yusuke."

Then he was gone. Yusuke ran to the opening; searching for his friend. What the hell? That had been so...so...un-Hiei-like, that it was frightening.

"He identifies with her," Kurama stated, coming to stand beside his teammate, "They are a lot alike…"

Yusuke sighed as he braced his hand against the broken wall and starred out at the vast land stretched out before him.

"Damn…." He growled softly; he wanted to be mad at Taisho…Kagome… whatever the hell she was called. He wanted to be mad at her… but he found he couldn't hold on to the anger. His friend's words made to much sense… It hurt, that she had used him… though now that he thought about it… she had never actually ASKED to be brought to Reiki. He had offered…grabbed her arm and forcefully pulled her into the portal, in fact. Could he really blame her for taking advantage of the opportunity he had given her? And if it HAD been his friends stuck in some prison; nothing would stop him from freeing them… even if it took five hundred years…. Especially if it took five hundred years. Nothing in heaven or hell would be able to stop him; and if anything tried… he's go through them. Could he really judge her for doing what he would do if the positions were reversed?

"Boton…" he said finally, "Where's this 'Purgatory' located again?"

"I don't really know," she said, "I was never privy to its location…"

"It's the Gorgon lair…" Kurama said softly.

"Well, that would certainly explain the insane, maniacal laughter," Kwabara stated.

"Ironic really," Kurama agreed.

"Boton..." Yusuke took one last look out the damaged wall, "How long before Koenma recovers enough to send the S.D.F. back out to get her?"

"Not long...and hour max," she said; he nodded.

"We'll guys," he said, "Let's go find Hiei...He's already had to face those gorgon things without us once... I'd hate for him to do it again..."

**Another Chapter down... though... this was hard as hell to get out for some reason. I'm not really sure if I like this particular chapter all that much... but... o'well. I hope ya'll enjoy it. REVIEW!**


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I do not own IY or YYH

A/N: As someone mentioned it in a review, I'm going to state this here... As this is a Crossover between two different anime's, in my opinion it is obvious that the fic is then by definition an AU (atlernate universe). Being that it is an AU, some of the facts within the story relating to the two animes will be DIFFERENT. If you are purest, and/or have issues with there being changes to characters, places, and settings within the different anime's... first...why in heavens name are you reading Crossover Fanfiction in the first place? and two... please don't insist on pointing out the differences. More then likely the author realizes this, since the deviation was probably intentional. Now, if there are inconsistancies within the story...by all means mention those so the author can fix them. But please... don't nit-pick. Thank you... that concludes this author's note... now on with the fic!

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 8:

Kagome stood on the tree branch overlooking the sister's lair. It was growing dark …. Shippo would be back soon and hopefully he would have something to undo what Reiki had done. She sighed softly as the detectives furious brown eyes filled her mind; she felt moisture slide down her face. She hadn't known the Reiki team long; but as she had told Hiei… she had grown rather fond of them. She tried hard not to remember the dance her and Yusuke shared; or what it felt like to have his hands on her. It was in the past, just one more thing to shove into the shadows and try hard not to look at. It would never happen again. The detective hated her now. She couldn't really blame him for his anger though…

She felt a presence approaching rapidly; she tensed as a small black shadow appeared in the tree branch opposite her.

"Where's the fox?" he asked, casting her a sidelong glance.

"He should be here shortly;" she replied, "Unless, he somehow managed to piss off the ones he was visiting. What are you doing here, Hiei?"

"My services to Reiki were no longer required," he stated off hand. Kagome smiled softly at him;

"Thank you…." She whispered.

A few moments later a large hawk settled on the branch below Kagome. There was a shimmer of magic and where the hawk had perched; now stood Shippo, the setting sun seemed to make his hair and fur blaze a fiery orange. For a moment, Hiei caught a glimpse of multiple tails, than there was just a single russet and cream appendage swishing in the air.

"Well?" Kagome asked, glancing at the silent form of her normally cheerful, jubilant son. With a flick of his hand; he tossed something to her. There was a flash of fire off glass; then her hand closed around a small glass vile. She regarded it inquisitively for a moment; then looked back at her son.

"It's something of her own design," he said, Kagome looked at him sharply, eyes wide. "She said to pour it on them, just a few drops…and it should restore them. There's only one problem…"

"Which is?" she asked,

"She doesn't think it'll work on the humans," he said, "She said that after so long… the human body will have died. She doesn't know if it will work on a half-demon or not…. It was intended to be used on victims of a basilisk…not Gorgon... But being that the victim's suffer the same fate, she believes it should counter-act the Gorgon curse."

Kagome nodded and slipped the vile into her pocket. "Well, let's hope that it does work. If not…"

"It'll work," Shippo stated; he didn't want to know what would happen to them if this DIDN'T work. Reiki had all but forgotten about them over the centuries; and here they had gone and made targets of themselves again… this time assaulting Koenma himself… it would be a long time before the toddler-god forgot that particular humiliation.

"Alright," Kagome said, flipping the hood up on her cloak; her face suddenly disappearing beneath a wrinkled baboons muzzle. Even after five centuries; the sight of that particular article of clothing made him shudder. Which, in the end, was why Kagome had ended up keeping the wretched thing; the sight of a demon clothed in a white baboon pelt instilled fear even five hundred years after Naraku's demise. As much as she loathed the evil hanyo; she used his pelt as a symbol to instill fear in her enemies and to show her status as the one to kill the legendary demon. "Shall we gentlemen?"

Kagome leapt from the tree; Shippo and Hiei seconds behind her. They landed in the small clearing in front of the cave silently; Shippo pulled a golden lasso from one of his pockets.

"So…who's up for a nice romance stroll…?" Kagome asked.

"Hn…"

"Yup…." She agreed, "my thoughts exactly…"

Yusuke and the others arrived just as the trio disappeared into the caves gloom; missing them by minutes. He looked at the black opening and felt unease slither down his spine.

"Boton," he asked, "By chance…if we're turned to stone… can you and the other reapers forcefully remove our souls from the statues? I don't want to spend an eternity stuck in one place."

"Let's just try not to be turned to stone…"she said with forced cheerfulness, "Kay?"

"Yea…." Yusuke agreed; as he started forward. "I don't suppose we have anything like a mirror or something so we?"

"Um…no?" Boton replied.

"Wonderful…"

"Just try really hard not to look at either of them," Kurama said, "They can only turn you to stone if you look them in the eyes. "

They grew silent as they moved further into the cave. The deeper they went, the cooler the air got. Yusuke could feel the weight of the mountain pressing down on him. He roughly shoved down the quivering voice that insisted the walls were closing in on him and demanded that he leave immediately.

The darkness closed in around them; all too soon the cave twisted and they could no longer see the beacon of daylight the cave mouth provided. Suddenly, the air around them flickered with orange light. Yusuke turned; Kwabara's spirit sword glowed in his hand, casting an eerie orange glow across the cave walls.

The taller man took the lead; it seemed to take longer to reach the massive cavern Yusuke and Hiei had found before. He could hear water dripping, the soft sound echoing around them. Where were the Professor and Hiei? Were they already deeper in the cavern? Had they somehow managed to beat the Professor there? Or… had they already been turned to stone?

Kagome and Hiei silently watched as Yusuke and his team moved further into the clearing; Kwabara's energy making them a bright, glowing target in the cave's darkness. What a wonderful way to announce their presence…. Why don't they just start yelling at the top of their lungs?

'_Are they always so reckless?'_ Kagome asked, '_Don't they know that with that light they'll be sitting ducks?'_

'_The detective and oaf rarely plan that far in advance,'_ Hiei replied.

'_How is it they are still alive?'_ Kagome asked. Hiei shrugged.

'_Luck,'_ he stated, '_The detective has the uncanny ability to somehow pull a victory out of his ass in even the direst situations….'_

'_Well,_' she replied, '_Let's hope it holds and some of that luck rubs off on us too…'_

Kagome glanced behind her; knowing her kit was wrapped in his illusions and couldn't be seen. InuYasha had better appreciate what she had to go through to free them from their imprisonment; or so help her she was going to SIT him into America and back.

Leaping from stone pillar to stone pillar; Hiei and Kagome were no more than shadows within the already oppressive blackness of the cavern. They kept above the Spirit Detective team; watching the shadows like twin guardian angels…_though being demons perhaps gargoyles was a more appropriate analogy_;Kagome thought, repressing a snicker; she wrenched her thought back on the here and now and forced herself to focus... Sooner or later the light would attract the Gorgon's attention; they hoped a surprise attack from above would be more effective than remaining on the floor where the Gorgon's had the advantage.

Yusuke's eyes flicked over the shadow cast by Kwabara's spirit energy; the anticipation was killing him. Every little flicker of movement, real or imagined, seemed to be a serpentine body slipping from view. It didn't help that he could feel eyes on him. Every so often he would hear a soft sigh that sounded suspiciously like scales sliding over stone. He hated this waiting… he almost longed for something to jump out and attack them.

"This way," Kwabara said, as they came to the smaller cavern when Kurama and Yusuke had previously been held at. He moved confidently past the smooth stone slabs that made both his teammates shudder.

"Do you know where you're going?" Yusuke asked him, as they moved into a narrow hallway; the stone worn smooth from use.

"I don't know," he replied, "But something is telling me to go this way…"

Above them, Kagome glanced at the smaller shadow, clinging to the pillar opposite her.

'_This is a common occurrence I take it;'_ She asked.

'_His….feelings…. generally are accurate…surprisingly…'_ Hiei admitted.

Interesting, Kagome thought, definitely could have used that skill back in the day. That talent would have made life a little easier; probably would have made hunting for shards easier too.

They descended deeper into the cavern; with each step it became apparent that something had lived there for hundreds of years. While the outer cavern had been bare, the further they went the more intricate things became. Stone murals were carved into the walls depicting ancient battles; all featuring two and sometimes three serpentine sisters. The Pillars within the structure were no longer simple crude stone; these were carved with intricate swirls and designs. Torches adorned the walls and pillars in intervals; casting everything in a shadowy orange glow.

"This…this looks like some sort of temple…" Boton said softly, her voice, even as a bare whisper, seemed thunderous in the oppressive silence. Towering statues depicted the Gorgon's in their full glory. The first was a depiction of a young woman, closer to the size one would say a human woman would be; her face was level with Kwabara's six foot- five frame. Stone serpents writhed around her head; a near twenty foot tail curled around her, her unseeing eyes starring off into the caverns darkness.

"Medusa…" Boton whispered, looking at the ancient writing on the base of the statue. "This must have been done in honor of their sister…"

"So that's what they look like, huh?" Yusuke said, studying the snake-woman's image.

Behind the statue, was another; larger statue… this depicting one of the sisters reclining on a carved stone bench overlooking a crystal clear cavern pond. Brilliant white fish darted around the pond; their pink eyes unseeing in the darkness. Yusuke studied this statue, idly wondering which sister this was a representation of. It was far more detailed than Medusa's likeness. She reclined on the bench; appearing to be asleep; even the gleaming red serpents around her head seemed to be slumped in sleep. Compared to Medusa; this sister was monstrous. Easily three times the size of her sister; her thick tail curled down and around the column as thick around as two telephone poles.

They eased past the life-like statue; the creature's tail wrapped around behind her and sprawled across the cavern haphazardly for nearly thirty feet. They stepped over the carved stone; careful not to step on the life-like appendage. How deep did these tunnels go?

Suddenly a loud rattle came from behind them; they whirled and Yusuke felt fear curl in his stomach. The stone tail they had just stepped over….was moving; the end rattling like a rattlesnakes. The sound of shifting stone echoed around them as the 'life-like statue' came to life. Yusuke found his eyes traveling up the stone column as the heads of several red serpents came into view.

"Don't look you fool!" Kurama said, grabbing both Yusuke and Kwabara; breaking them of their paralysis and jerking them into motion. They scrambled behind a couple near-by columns.

"Well, well," a voice hissed, "what do we have here? Our toys have come back to play with us it seems…."

Laughter echoed from the darkness; it seemed to surround them, the sound coming from every direction.

"More pretty men for our garden…" the second voice, said from the way they had just come; both voices were darkly seductive. Yusuke felt his head turning to look at the owner of those voices before he was even aware that he was moving. He snapped his eyes closed and forced his head to turn away. Bloody hell…. No one said anything about their voices having a compulsion!

"And they were so pretty…" the first voice, deeper than the other, said; "So much better than those other men…"

"And such power..." the second voice, whispered; "Delicious…."

"Come out, come out, little ones…" the first voice purred, "We have a special place reserved so such pretty specimens…"

Yusuke shared an uneasy glance with Kurama; his heart beginning to pound.

"Ahhh…..there you are…." A voice whispered, into his ear. Yusuke jerked; barely remembering at the last second to close his eyes. He heard Kurama and Kwabara leap away… A clawed hand grabbed a fistful of his shirt as he too, tried to throw himself away from the threat.

"Ah, ah…." The voice hissed, "Where do you think you are going, my sweet. Our companions certainly chose well when they caught you….look at me boy…"

Yusuke resisted the urge to do exactly that; he could feel the creature's breath caress his neck. He felt the floor disappear under him. He jerked against the clawed hand fisted in his shirt. He heard the tell-tale rip of fabric.

"Ah ah... no, you don't," the voice hissed as she slammed him against the pillar he had just been hiding behind. All the air left Yusuke's lungs in one great rush; sound seemed to dim for a moment before it returned.

Above; Kagome glanced at Hiei in silent communication. Concealed in the safety of the ceiling shadows; they could see the two Gorgons clearly. Stheno; the eldest sister and larger of the two, with her hair of glittering red and golden serpents was slowly making her way around behind their friends. Euryale, the younger of the two, smaller and thinner than her sibling; held Yusuke against the pillar. The light gleamed off of her bronze claws. The copper and bronze colored vipers that adorned her head caressed Yusuke's face; daring him to open his eyes to see what was touching him. Venom slid down his face; leaving an acidic burn as it went.

Yusuke kicked out at his attacker; his long legs catching her in the chest. She hissed in pain as she was shoved away; her claws ripping through his shirt. He stumbled to the floor; barely managing to stay on his feet. His relief was short lived as suddenly he was wrapped in thick coils. With each breath he took the coils tightened... he couldn't breathe... the blood pounded in his head, he felt his ribs crack…. He couldn't move…couldn't breathe…

With barely a glance at Hiei; Kagome released her claws and allowed gravity to take over. She was directly above Euryale and Yusuke; her decent was silent.

Euryale felt the slightest shift in the air above her. She glanced up in time to see a creature in white plummeting toward her. Startled, the Gorgon leapt backward; flinging her prey away from her. The male flew across the cavern and crashed into the wall; sliding to the floor in a crumpled heap.

Kagome landed where the serpent-women had just vacated and immediately leapt at Euryale; slashing at her with her own talons; the mask over her face making it easier to attack the Gorgon without making eye contact. Unfortunately it also partially blocked her vision; certainly explained why Naraku tended to run in the past. Bastard wasn't just a coward; he couldn't freaking see!

Stheno whirled around at her sister's shriek; the elder Gorgon screamed in rage as blood blossomed across her sibling's abdomen. She lunged for the strange white creature attacking her sister; only to be brought up short by a flash of flame along steel. She dodged to the side; shrieking in pain and fury as the blade sliced through one of her serpents. Acidic blood splattered across the cavern floor and walls as the serpents body thrashed against her head. Hiei hissed as blood splattered across his cloak; the fabric instantly began to smoke and sizzle as the blood ate through it. Hiei flung the cloak aside as he danced away from the furious gorgon. Both Kagome and Hiei leapt away; desperately trying to keep away from the enraged sisters.

_'Well..._' Kagome said through her mental link with Hiei, _'we have their attention...'_

_'We didn't WANT their attention, onna;'_ Hiei replied dryly as he leapt; putting another pillar between him and Stheno.

_'Oh right...heh…oops?_' Kagome replied, barley dodging Euryale's bronze claws. _'Well... what do we do now? Can't keep this up long...'_

Seeing that the sisters were otherwise distracted; Kurama hurried over to his fallen teammate, Kwabara and Boton trailing behind.

"Is he ok?" Kwabara whispered. After a cursory check; Kurama nodded.

"Just some broken ribs and a mild concussion..." he replied, "Nothing he hasn't had before..." then rolling the Toshin onto his back; Kurama pulled a seed from his hair. With a tiny amount of energy the seed burst into bloom; producing a large foul smelling mustard yellow flower, similar looking to an Asiatic lily, with purple filaments and neon green anthers. He held the bloom under Yusuke's nose... the reaction was immediate. The detective gasped trying to get away from the horrid odor; jarring him awake.

Yusuke groaned as his torso protested the sudden movement.

"Fucking A..." he swore, levering himself off of the cold cavern floor. He staggered a few steps and sagged against the wall.

"Easy Yusuke..." Kurama cautioned, "You've got a concussion, so broken ribs...and judging by your eyes... some popped blood vessels."

Yusuke glared at his friend, an action made more eerie from the popped vessels in his eyes turning the whites dark. In the shadows cast throughout the cavern; it turned the blood red into a deep soulless looking black.

"Well..." Yusuke wheezed, "That would certainly explain why everything keeps moving."

"It'll pass..." the red head replied, his gaze going back to the two playing decoy; "We don't have much time... they're luck won't hold."

"There is another cavern this way..." a voice said behind them. Kwabara whirled; brandishing his spirit sword. The yellowish glow reflected off forest green eyes and russet hair.

"You're the fox..." Kwabara stated; causing his friends to give him droll looks.

"No shit Sherlock…" Yusuke muttered.

"Obviously..." the fox replied, "Called Shippo. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, detective, mother speaks highly of you. Now...c'mon!"

"What about Hiei and the Professor..." Kwabara asked as he followed them down another hall.

"Mother can take care of herself..." Shippo said confidently, "and I assume your Hiei is equally as skilled..."

"He's not my anything!" Kwabara protested. They turned another corner and slide to a stopped; the tunnel opened up into a vast room, the walls were sloped and the moon shone brightly above them. There in the center of the open area was a raised platform; upon it, spotlighted by silvery moonlight, stood several dozen sculptures on display.

Cautiously they approached the platform; silently moving through the garden of statues.

"Look..." Kurama whispered thoughtfully, "we're in some sort of crater…."

Boton stared at each sculpture as she moved further into the garden. Faint energy flickered within each sculpture. All of them held a certain ethereal beauty; as well as a combination of horns, wings, claws and fangs.

"They're all demons..." she said softly,

Yusuke examined the sculpture in front of him; it was a women... caught in the act of throwing something. She didn't have the same hum of energy he sensed from the other statues.

"Not all of them;" he said, "I think this one was human..."

"Sango..." Shippo whispered brokenly behind him. Yusuke turned to regard the kitsune; Shippo reached out as if to touch the statue. Even frozen into a statue she seemed so full of life... he had missed his aunt.

"She one of yours?" Yusuke asked. Shippo nodded.

"The taijiya, Sango...my mother's sister-in-arms and a women I considered my aunt." He said, running his fingertip across her temple, "She deserved a better fate then this...after everything she went through...everything we went through..."

Shippo turned toward him; forest green eyes looked at him with such sadness and confusion...

"All we wanted was some peace..." he said, "we stopped Naraku... we saved the world... all we wanted was to live our lives... was that such a bad thing to ask for?"

For a moment, Yusuke could see the small kitsune kit Shippo had once been; the age old anger and confusion burned in his eyes, begging…no, daring… the detective to answer him. Yusuke looked away; unable to answer the silent demand in those forest green orbs. The more he learned of the hand Taisho- no, Kagome-had been dealt; the more his anger drained away and he felt….sympathy for the demoness.

"Here's another," Kurama stated, standing a few feet away, "He doesn't have the same energy signature as the others…"

Shippo and Yusuke moved over to stand next to the red-head. Shippo looked at the stone form of Miroku; like Sango, the monk had been frozen in the act of movement. His arms raised, like he had been holding his staff to ward off a blow.

"Miroku," he whispered, his hand ghosting over the prayer beads that the monk hadn't had the chance to remove. Vaguely he wondered what the outcome of the battle would have been if Miroku had been able to use his Wind Tunnel in the fight against Reiki, or even the fight with the Gorgon's.

"We need to find the others," he said, "if Sango and Miroku are here; the other three can't be far…"

Shippo's words proved to true; not three yards away stood InuYasha, Sesshomaru and Kouga. The three demons, frozen in a rare display of cooperation, stood back to back with each other. Both InuYasha and Kouga were frozen with snarls of rage on their faces; Sesshomaru stood as regal and calm as he always had been. Both the Inu-brothers had their arms raised in the act of swinging swords that were no longer there.

"Wooow," Boton breathed; she had forgotten the fierce beauty of the Guardian's companions.

"What type of demons were they again?" Kwabara asked out of curiosity.

"Canine," Shippo replied, off hand as he examined the statues; "Wolf and Dog. Kouga is the wolf; InuYasha is the half-demon and his brother, a full dog demon. Their father was the Inu no Taisho; ruler of the Western Lands… Sesshomaru inherited his title and had just surpassed his old man in power right before the fight with Naraku. We wouldn't have been able to beat the bastard without him." Then, with a smirk, Shippo muttered, "Bet that bastard wished he had never fucked with Rin…"

"Rin?" Boton asked, Shippo glared at the Reaper; not forgetting in the slightest that she had stood at the right had of the fool that had caused this.

"His ward," he growled, "A human girl. She was seven…"

Yusuke froze at the venom in the kitsune's voice; if looks could kill, Boton would be a pile of dust from the hatred burning in the fox's eyes.

"What happened to her…?" Yusuke wanted to curse his friend, only Kwabara would think to ask such an obvious question at such a bad time. Yusuke half expected the russet haired kitsune to leapt at Boton with the look he was giving her and the way his fists clenched; Kurama edged closer to the reaper, sensing the same thirst for revenge from his Kitsune brethren as Yusuke did. Instead, Shippo seemed to visibly reign in his anger and looked at the human;

"She was killed…" he said, "When the Reiki attacked the wolf tribes…" No one commented on the haunted look in the kitsune's eyes, or on the way his eyes suddenly seemed glassy and wet. Shippo took a deep shuttering breath; pushing the dark memories of that day from his mind. "She was my best friend…" he stated, "Even as young as I was, I loved her… I had planned on asking her to be my mate when we were older…" Frigid, forest green glared at Boton once more, "I will never forget the moment I found her broken body… it is forever burned into my memory… I will never forget…and never forgive you or any of Reiki for what you did that day. If I had my way, I'd leave you as broken and scared as she had been."

A cold chill ran down Yusuke's spine at the coldness that had crept into the kitsune's voice; five hundred years had done nothing to curb the demons wrath. Instead, it seemed that the anger had burned its way into the kitsune's soul; burning and festering until it turned into a cold, cruel ball of hate.

Kagome barely noticed when Shippo slipped off into another tunnel; the detectives and reaper in tow. She glanced around, years of being hunted lending her the ability to remain calm despite the situation. They needed a way out…. Their current strategy was only a temporary solution. Any damage they inflicted upon the cursed sisters was superficial. The blasted creatures healed faster than any demon she had ever encountered. Sure, they inflicted wounds upon the two; but the pain did little else then further piss off the already furious siblings.

'_This is getting us nowhere quick,'_ she stated, '_suggestions?'_

'_hn….'_ She took that as a negative.

'_I don't suppose you happen to have anything strong enough to perhaps stun them?'_ she asked.

Hiei glanced down at his right arm at her question; that small moment of inattention had him crashing through a pillar as Stheno caught him a solid blow in the back with her tail. '_Fuck…'_ he swore, blindly leaping up and away as the gorgon's thick coils came crashing silently down where he had landed milliseconds before.

'_By me some time,'_ he growled, he hated to use the energy when he knew the attack wouldn't end the battle. It would simply weaken him… still, they couldn't keep dodging attacks. Already they were tiring faster than the siblings; more and more of the sister's attacks were hitting them. A quick glance toward the demoness showed her favoring her side; the thick fur of her cloak concealed the wound, but he could sense the sharp pain within their mental link and smell her blood on the air.

Kagome wanted to laugh at Hiei's words; how the hell was she supposed to 'by him some time' when she was barely staying one step ahead of Euryale? Still, whatever he was planning had to be better than their current strategy. She dodged razor sharp claws; leaping over the bronze tipped talons and rolling to her feet. She leapt toward the glittering red-gold scales she saw sliding behind a pillar; silently stalking the demon she had allied herself with. She grabbed the golden tipped rattlesnake tail before it disappeared around the pillar and, using her momentum…pulled.

Stheno screeched as she was dragged backward and away from her prey. She twisted; using the powerful muscles within her tail to launch herself over half her body-length toward the strange white demon her sister had been stalking.

Euryale slammed into Kagome's back; the effort of dragging the elder sister's massive form had slowed her enough that the smaller, lighter and faster sister was able to catch up. Kagome slammed into the hard cavern floor; suddenly grateful for the protection the mask and cloak provided as she slide across stone. Millisecond's later another force hit her; slamming her further into the rock. Dazed, Kagome had a sudden moment of sympathy for all the times she had Sat InuYasha hard enough to leave his impression in the ground.

Hiei felt a surge of adrenaline as he watched Kagome go down under the combine assaults of the gorgon sisters. He ripped the bindings off his arm; the dragon already pulling, sensing it's masters urgency. He only needed a moment to focus….

"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" He snarled, releasing the black beast. The monstrous dragon leapt forward eagerly.

Kagome felt the massive weight that had been on her back move and felt the prick of claws as she was turned over. Cold cavern air caressed her face as the mask slide back and a groan slipped past her lips.

"A woman?!" a voice hissed, Euryale's she thought, though at the moment it was hard to tell when it felt like everything was spinning.

"Bitch…" the deeper voice of the elder sister, growled; "Came here to flaunt her beauty…."

Flaunt her…. Oh….

Kagome stubbornly kept her eyes closed as her stomach dropped. She had never thought of the consequences of her, as a female, confronting the gorgon's would be. The sister's collected pretty men for their garden like humans collect baseball cards or shoes…. But women…especially attractive women… reminded the siblings of what they had lost….

A surge of malevolent energy distracted the two sister's long enough for Kagome to roll to her feet; she felt her eyes widen as a monstrous black dragon came barreling through the cavern. For a moment she froze; fear paralyzing her. The darkness in her soul rejoiced at the feel of such malevolence. It longed to merge with the great beast; to absorb its power like Naraku always sought to absorb powerful demons.

"_MOVE!" _ Hiei's warning was shouted both physically and mentally; roughly jarring her out of her paralysis. She leapt out of the way; seconds before the dragon slammed into the ground in front of her. The Gorgon's screamed as the dragon bulldozed them around the cavern; it's massive body crashing though pillars as it sought to consume the immortals.

The entire cavern shook with the force of the dragon's rampage. Kagome raced toward the slumped Hiei; as he watched his dragon; fueled by the additional rush of adrenaline. She grabbed the smaller demon's wrist as she forced her injured body to move faster. Boulders crashed to the ground around them as the cavern, unable to withstand the dragon's rage, began to collapse.

They careened through the tunnel Shippo and the detectives had disappeared in; Kagome spared a thought to hope the others were somewhere reasonably safe.

Shippo and the others turned back towards the cavern they had left their allies in as a wave of malevolent energy swept through the area. The hair on the back of Shippo's neck rose; the energy felt so reminiscent of Naraku that the kitsune couldn't help by swallow the lump of fear that suddenly lodged in his throat.

"What the hell is that…?" He muttered, more to himself then to his allies.

"The Dragon of the Darkness Flame," Kwabara whispered, able to identify that particular negative entity with ease.

"Hiei's most powerful attack…" Kurama said. Shippo hardly heard him. _So…that's the Hell Dragon mother was talking about…_he thought, he shuddered at the feel of the beast's energy creeping along his skin.

A dull roar filled the air, as the earth seemed to echo Shippo's sentiments and shuddered at the feel of the black energy. Dust and rock exploded from the tunnel entrance causing everyone to instinctively duck and cover; taking shelter behind the stone statues. No one noticed the two figures that came flying out of the tunnel along with the rock and debris.

Shippo coughed as a huge cloud of dust covered the platform they were on; coughing the kitsune stumbled to his feet.

"Mom!" he called, barely able to draw a breath as he inhaled dust, "Mother!"

"Hiei!" Yusuke's voice called for his companion; followed by several other weak voices.

Within moments the dust had settled enough that they could see the damage that had been wrought by the cave in. The tunnel they had gone through was completely collapsed. Shippo felt his heart pound in his chest; hoping against hope that he mother had somehow made it out of that disaster alive.

Coughing near the collapsed tunnel caught their attention; Shippo sighed in relief as he saw the familiar pale fur of his mother's cloak as she slowly forced herself to her hands and knees. Beside her, looking equally rumpled and covered in dust was the lithe form of the Reiki's fire demon.

"Brilliant strategy," Kagome said, choking on the thick dust that settled around them. Hiei tried to resist the spasming of his own lungs and failed miserably.

"It….worked…didn't…it…" He coughed, stumbling to his feet; debris cascaded off his form as he stood. Kagome shoved the mask out of her face; desperate for a breath of fresh air. Dust billowed around her with each movement.

"And you called the detective reckless…" she muttered darkness; trying in vain to brush some of the dirt and dust off of her pants and cloak.

"Ungrateful onna…" Hiei muttered, absently swatting at his own clothes...

"Kagome!"

"Hiei!"

"Mom!"

A chorus of relieved voices called out to them; their owners rushing towards the pair. The two moved forward slowly; favoring their various wounds.

"You think that killed them?" Boton asked. Kagome shook her head;

"Doubtful," she said, "They're immortal remember. It's just a matter of time before they get out…"

"Hopefully they got caught in the collapse" Kwabara said, "It'll take months for them to burrow out of that…"

Kagome and Hiei shared a look; they hoped he was right…

"Mom," Shippo said, his voice suddenly serious, "We found them…"

Kagome looked into her son's forest colored eyes and nodded; "Show me…"

**A/N: I hope ya'll enjoyed... I'm more or less finished this fic and have just got the editing and the epilogue to do. Since this has turned into something of a complicated fic; if you notice there is some part of the story that I didn't manage to tie up at the end... please let me know. It's amazing how confusing all the little details can get after a while. . I'll be posting more chapters- I think there's perhaps one...maybe two more plus the epilogue. Let me know what you think! REVIEW!**


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I do not own IY or YYH

Hell Hath No Fury

Chapter 9:

Kagome felt her eyes water as she gazed at the frozen forms of her oldest friends and dearest allies. Slowly she drew the vile of clear liquid from her pocket; fear and anticipation making her stomach turn. Five hundred years and finally she was here… would the potion work? What would her friends think of her now that she was no longer just 'Kagome'…? How would they react to her merging with the Jewel and the similarities to their enemy it had granted her? She was suddenly more terrified then she had ever been…

Give her demons, homicidal Gods, reckless Spirit Detectives with apparent suicidal tendencies… those all were easy compared to the prospect of her loved ones rejecting her. A clawed hand settled on her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze.

'Let me…" Shippo whispered, reaching for the tiny vile; she nodded and let him take it. He walked over to Sango and Miroku; he had been told that the potion probably wouldn't work on the humans, but he had to make sure…if nothing else, perhaps it would free their spirits. He opened the vile and placed his finger over the small opening; only a minuscule amount of the liquid was required to undo the spell…if it would work at all. He rubbed a drop of the liquid across his aunt's lips and forehead; hoping for some sort of reaction.

It took a moment; then the stone began to fade. For the briefest of moments; he could see his aunt's brown eyes… then she too faded. Behind him, Boton let out a small gasp. There where the statue once stood was a young woman, dressed in ancient black and pink taijiya armor; she glanced around the cavern with confused eyes.

"It worked…" Boton said, her pink gaze flicking to Shippo… "Her spirit has been released."

Shippo nodded and moved to do the same to Miroku; the monk's spirit appearing moments later next to Sango.

Kagome and Shippo watched as Boton seemed to fade from sight; she glanced at the demoness and smiled softly… "I'll take care of them… I swear… I'll make sure they get judged fairly and get peace…"

Kagome felt trepidation at trusting the reaper; yet what choice did she have?

"You better…" She said softly; unknowingly drawing the attention of her two deceased friends, "Or so help me…."

Boton nodded at the unfinished threat; she didn't need to know what the demoness would do to her if she allowed any harm to befall her friends spirits… she had seen what the woman could do. She knew what awaited her should she fail.

"What the hell is going on?" Sango growled; floating several feet above the statues heads. She could hear Kagome's voice; far colder then she had ever imagined hearing her friend. The sight of the other woman, shocked her sister-in-arms… the once cheerful, sunny human had been replaced by an ethereal demoness, who wore the cloak of their enemy.

"Hello Sango….Miroku…" a sad, cautious, voice said next to them, the two warrior's spun and instantly tensed and the sight of the reaper. Boton held up two hands, as if to ward off an attack from the two furious spirits.

"Peace…" she said… "I'm not here to hurt you… I swear…."

"What the hell is going on?!" Sango demanded again. Beside her; Miroku regarded her with steely blue eyes; fore-going his normal lecherous greeting for attractive females, and settling on glaring at the blue haired woman.

"I'd advise you answer her…" he said coldly. "Why are we here… and why is Kagome a demon?"

"It's been five hundred years since your battle with Naraku…" Boton said, "After you were brought here, you were imprisoned within stone. Kagome somehow merged with the Jewel she was guarding; it gave her the demonic form. "

"You were there…." Miroku stated, "I remember you…"

Boton nodded sadly, tears slipping down her face; "Yes…" she replied, "And I have regretted it ever since…"

Sango wanted turned away from the guilty entity; and regarded her soul sister. There was a haunted look in Kagome's eyes, and such sadness. She reached out to touch her dearest friend; her hand passed through the girls white streaked hair. Kagome jerked and look around;

"Sango?" she whispered brokenly. The taijiya wanted to throw herself at her friend who looked so broken from a moment; then those pale eyes softened.

"Go with her sister," she said, barely whispering the words, "I miss you and love you both… but you need to go with her… find peace…"

Miroku pulled Sango away from her teary eyed friend; the spirits shoulders shook with silent sobs. Sango whirled on the blue-haired death…

"What will happen to Kagome?" she snarled. Boton blinked, pinned by the anger and worry in those dark eyes.

"I-I don't know…" Boton said, honestly. "All I can say is... I'll do everything I can to help her…."

"That's not good enough!" the taijiya stated coldly. Miroku put a restraining hand on his hot-tempered friend.

"She won't be alone…" he said, "Look… Shippo is with her… and it looks like she's still able to attract even the most unlikely of allies…"

Sango glanced over at her friend again; this time seeing the much older kitsune standing next to her. What surprised her though; were the two dark haired demons that had moved up to flank her as silent tears rolled down her face. With everyone focused on Kagome, no one but the spirits noticed the open, earnest gazes of the two demons as they stood protectively at her back, silently lending her their strength.

"She always did have a way with demons…" Sango muttered. Boton smiled softly even as worry filled her chest; she knew Koenma would be back for Kagome with S.D.F. in tow… and from the looks of it… his team had made their choice.

"It's time…" she said softly, oar appearing in her hand.

Though Kagome couldn't see the forms of her two friends; she could sense them, could sense their sadness, anger, confusion…and ultimately their love for her. She closed her eyes and sighed as she felt them disappear. She took a deep breath and nodded to Shippo…

Now came the fun part…

"Let's hope that InuYasha is as accepting as Sango and Miroku," she said softly. Shippo paused momentarily; then deciding that he would awaken InuYasha last. Though impulsive; Kouga wasn't nearly as hot-tempered as InuYasha. He hoped that both the older demons would be able to control their emotions far better than he suspected InuYasha would.

He swiped the potion across Kouga's snarling lips and across his forehead. The wolf prince took a shuddering breath as the stone visage faded to be replaced by flesh and blood. He stumbled; brilliant blue eyes snapping up to survey the demons that surrounded him. He growled; sliding into a fighting stance instantly…

"Kouga?" The familiar voice made him pause. He turned to regard the woman behind him. Kagome…? But it couldn't be… the woman was a demon… and smelled a little like Naraku….

He growled at her; eyes suspicious… "Who are you… where's my woman…" he snarled. A pained expression crossed the demoness' face for a moment.

"Idiot…" a voice said next to him; Kouga turned barely stopping himself from lashing out at the strange demon, before his foggy brain recognized the familiar scent. "That IS Kagome…"

"Kit?" he asked, the now adult kitsune glared at him. Kouga glanced from the fox to the petite demoness.

"Kagome?"

She smiled at him, a soft sad smile, but for all the woman seemed to have changed…her smile had not. Before she knew it, Kagome had been swept up into a hug.

"You survived," he said, holding her tightly and breathing deeply; re-familiarizing with his women's new scent.

"Yes…we did…" she said, thrilled that the wolf prince didn't seem to hate her. Yusuke glared at the demon and felt a growl rumble in his chest. Did he have to hold her so tightly?

Kagome gently pushed Kouga away and took a step back. "And for the record…" she said, "I'm still NOT your woman."

Kouga laughed, blue eyes shining with mirth; "Can't blame a demon for trying…"

He turned to regard the rest of the group; and immediately noticed the possessive glare the taller of the dark haired males was giving him. The smaller of the two, much smaller of the two, was regarding him warily… though he didn't seem as possessive as the other….more protective.

"Go ahead Shippo," Kagome said; Kouga turned to watch the now adult kitsune...and was stunned to see two familiar figures frozen in stone.

"What the hell?" he muttered.

"I'll explain everything later," Kagome said, giving him a comforting smile. He wasn't the most patient of demons; but seeing the exhaustion creeping into his friend's eyes, and the pain barely held at bay, he nodded wordlessly. He could wait; when he had too.

Sesshomaru was next; followed quickly by InuYasha. The regal Inu-Lord regarded the group with his usual calm distain. His gaze met that of the Wolf Prince; who grinned and shrugged. Apparently he didn't know what was going on either.

The silence was broken by a violent snarl; "Naraku!" InuYasha spat; brandishing his claws and leaping toward Kagome. Pale eyes widened at the sudden assault.

The brash hanyo was flung backwards; as the two demons that had been flanking Kagome moved in front of her, knocking the foolish half breed away. Kouga, too, stepped between InuYasha and the demoness.

"Oi…. Mutt, what the hell you think you're doin'?" Kouga demanded, glaring at his once ally. He had momentarily forgotten how much he disliked the half-breed. Stupid, flea bitten mutt always attacked first and asked questions afterward….

"Get out of the way, flea-bag," InuYasha snarled. Kouga and the other two demons crouched ready to fight.

"InuYasha…." The sad, feminine voice behind them caused them all to glance at the demoness; Kagome raised furious pale eyes to look into gold.

"SIT BOY!" She snarled; InuYasha slammed into the ground with a resounding thud. "Ungrateful jack-ass," she growled.

The Reiki team blinked and looked from Kagome to the hanyo. Shippo crouched over the partially buried half-breed; that had been one of her more…intense 'sits'. He almost felt sorry for him…. Almost. He did after all attack his mother…..

"Well," he said to the growling hanyo, "Nice to know you still have the uncanny ability to piss Mom off like no other. I think she was waiting five hundred years JUST to sit you."

InuYasha blinked up at the kitsune above him; the demons familiar scent distracting him. Gingerly, he forced himself out of the impression he had made; he glared at him.

"What the hell is going on runt…" he snarled, Shippo had the sudden, childish urge to drop a top of the irritating hanyo's head…

"Perhaps if you're would be silent," Sesshomaru said coldly, "That question would be answered."

InuYasha snarled at his brother; then crossed his arms and glared at everyone.

"What a jerk," Yusuke muttered darkly, how the hell had Kagome befriended him again?

"Let me explain," Kagome said, then pausing she shook her head, "No, there's way too much and simply not enough time; let me summarize… it's been five hundred years since our battle with Naraku." Swearing met her statement; Kagome ignored the outbursts and continued, "We were attacked immediately after our battle by the Reiki Lord Koenma who was after the jewel. We were overrun… you all, along with Sango and Miroku were brought here and as punishment, were imprisoned in stone. When Koenma attempted to take the Jewel from me; it reacted, and somehow merged with me, turning me into…this…" she spread her arms, indicating her demonic form, "For five hundred years, Shippo, I and others have been at war with Reiki. Shippo and I have been trying to find you since then….and with the help of these gentlemen, were able to finally find you. This is Yusuke, Hiei, Kurama and Kwabara."

"My pack?" Kouga asked, Kagome regarded him solemnly;

"Ayme leads them, but they are a fraction of what they once were…Reiki decimated the tribes… trying to annihilate my allies."

Kouga looked at the floor and clenched his fist; claws biting into flesh. "How many…?"

"Over half…" she replied sadly, "Ginta and Hakkaku were among the slain…as well as Jaken and….and...Rin…"

Kouga howled at the loss of his two closest friends, and for the loss of so family and friends…so many innocents. Only the barest narrowing of Sesshomaru's golden eyes gave any inclination of his emotions.

"What of the jewel," InuYasha growled, "What do you mean it merged with you?"

"Exactly that InuYasha…" she replied, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, "We're one and the same now."

She turned to glance at Shippo; the kitsune slid a small sachet off his shoulder and shook the fabric out. It unfolded with a soft WHUMPH… from inside, he pulled Tenseiga, Bakusaiga and Tessaiga. He tossed the weapons to their owners.

"Not to be a downer or anything," Yusuke stated, "But we're sitting ducks here… we need to find a way out quick. It won't take long for Koenma to recover and come after you all."

"How right you are, Yusuke…." Koenma's voice said from above them. "I'm disappointed in you Yusuke… my own detectives…helping a wanted fugitive."

Kouga, Sesshomaru and InuYasha glared at the men surrounding Kagome; yet the demoness didn't seem surprised at this news. Neither did Shippo; the kitsune merely snarled, baring his fangs at the god.

Yusuke glared a Koenma; "I stopped being your detective a long time ago, Koenma…" he stated, "Or did you forget that you technically FIRED me. Remember? I continue to work for you because I want to….not because I have to."

Koenma glared at his detective, figured the little piss-ant would decide to bring that little fact into play. His gaze flitted to the other members of his team.

"You don't own us anymore either," Kurama said casually, "Our terms of service we up years ago…"

"And I was never technically part of the team…" Kwabara stated, "Not officially."

Kagome stared at the four men circling her; amazed at the unanimous show of support.

"So be it…" Koenma snarled, "You've chosen your sides…"

Suddenly dozens of S.D.F. members appeared; each with mid-level power. Yusuke grinned, cracking his knuckles… instantly three swords slid free of their scabbards with soft hisses.

"Let's have a little replay of history…" Kagome said, coldly, "And see who fairs better this time around…"

Pale blue met tarnished gold in a silent battle of wills; it was a stand-off and they both knew it. Kagome had power on her side while Koenma had sheer numbers.

"ENOUGH!" A voice thundered, echoing from all around them. Caught up in the intensity of the moment; none had noticed the clouds darkening overhead. Lighting flashed forcing the two groups further apart.

"That will be quite enough!" a familiar feminine voice commanded; Yusuke and his team starred wide eyed as the familiar form of Athena appeared. Swirling blue-grey eyes regarded the two groups solemnly; power crackled around the goddesses form, causing even Sesshomaru to step back a pace.

"Indeed," a voice purred from the shadows, "I believe you have caused enough trouble, little lord…"

Kagome felt her eyes widen as two familiar figures stepped from the shadows. She gave the two a bow, followed immediately by Shippo.

The men regarded the two new figures with unease; one stood taller the other, tawny skin seemed to glow with an inner light, she wore ancient leather armor, a male lions head covered the majority of her face, the beasts eyes glowing with an inner fire, the lions russet brown and black mane trailed down the woman's back, ending in an angrily swishing tail. Beside her, the second woman watched them with brilliant green-gold cat eyes, her skin a pale-creamy shade, almost silver in color; jet black hair flowed down her spin and shimmered in the moonlight. Silver metal glittered in her ears, neck and wrists; a pale green and silver silk gown billowed around her. They were as different as night and day… yet… similar somehow.

Athena regarded the two other goddesses; she should have known the others would notice her absence and decide to butt in. Especially the Cats… nothing got by those two.

"Sekhmet, Bast…" Athena greeted, the two feline goddesses turned to regard her. The Greek goddess repressed a shudder; they always made her nervous, particularly Sekhmet, the older sister always seemed a bit on the unstable side to her. She did nearly devour the human race before her family tricked her into getting drunk and calming her bloodlust. Athena sniffed in distain; she respected the other Goddesses power, but the bestial deities were so…barbaric…

Yusuke stared as suddenly the sky and crater walls seemed to shift and simmer, filling with ancient deities like an amphitheater.

"Holy…Moly…" Kwabara whispered beside him.

Kagome straightened from her bow, shocked written across her face at the sight before her eyes. The Professor in her instantly recognized many of the deities… Odin…Thor… Isis… Horus….Raven…Coyote… Ares… Hades… Kali… Amaterasu…. Dozens of entities filled the walls like stadium seating. She was not the only one taking note of the various deities… Koenma glared at the gathering.

"What is the meaning of this," he demanded, "How dare the other pantheons interfere in Reiki business…?"

"SILENCE FOOL," Athena and Sekhmet thundered, their combined voices shaking the entire mountain.

"It has been brought to our attention that Reiki has been abusing their power," Athena stated, "Furthermore, I have been informed that you have given asylum to two of our fugitives…the gorgon sisters, Stheno and Euryale…. Due to this, my companion was murdered in retaliation against me…"

Koenma remained silent. Athena looked at the two Egyptian goddesses;

"In addition to aiding wanted fugitives, you have hunted and threatened someone under my protection -of the priestess Kagome Higuashi. Charges include; attempted thief of her charge, multiple attempts of murder, near genocide of the Wolf clans…just to name a few…." Sekhmet stated, almost casually, golden eyes glowing within the lion's head.

"What the hell is going on?" InuYasha growled; Kouga slapped a hand over the hanyo's mouth, Shippo adding his own weight to help subdue the struggling half-demon. Sesshomaru glared at his brother, effectively silencing the younger male; though neither Kouga nor Shippo, made to release the younger male.

"As you, Koenma, are only acting in response to your fathers orders…..we summon King Emna, to answer to these insults to the Greek and Egyptian pantheons!"

The air seemed to pulse with power; and suddenly before them stood an older version of Koenma, with full well groomed beard and glasses perched on his nose.

"Why have I been summoned, "He demanded, looking at the goddess in front of him with distain. "This is MY territory…"

"Let you be judged…." Athena stated, ignoring the elder gods demands. Several dark figures stepped away from the walls… Anubis, Minos, Aeacus, and Radamanthus were among the few Kagome recognized.

Though mythology spoke of the various ways the ancient gods judged souls; there were no weights, no scales…. The deities of judgment circled Enma; eyes glowing… The air grew still, heavy and cold.

"You have been judged…." The dark figures spoke as one; the words had barely left their lips when the shadows seemed to race forward and wrap around Enma, dragging him down into the darkness with a muted bellow.

The heaviness suddenly left the air, time seemed to move again and the room brightened. Just as suddenly as the deities had appeared; they vanished… leaving only Athena, Sekhmet, Bast and a very shaking, very startled Koenma.

Athena regarded Koenma thoughtfully as he starred at the place his father had disappeared.

"Your father was corrupt," she stated, "He deliberately allowed demons to enter the human world to cause trouble, he freed and brought the gorgon's here illegally, and he lusted for the power the Shikon no Tama would give him. Furthermore his actions have led to insult being dealt to two different pantheons. Behavior unbefitting a god… as punishment he had been stripped of his power and cast into the abyss for a thousand years. You, Koenma, are now the true Ruler of Reiki… we expect a better performance out of you…and we WILL be checking."

The goddess turned, then glanced back at the stunned god, "Oh…and Koenma…" she said sweetly, "Our representatives will be along within the next few weeks to claim the lost artifacts you have so graciously kept safe for us…"

"O-of course… lady…" he stuttered, "I'll be awaiting…your...representatives…"

Athena turned, snapping her fingers. From the shadows the two gorgon sister hid; hoping to go unnoticed… At the snap of Athena's fingers, the two siblings rose into the air with twin hisses of rage. Athena began walking away from them and slowly vanished from sight; taking the two gorgon sisters with her.

Koenma blinked, still in shock. The two remaining goddesses moved gracefully forward. Kagome smiled at them, approaching her old friends and embracing each in turn.

"What are you doing here?" she said, as Sekhmet pushed back the lions head, revealing a face a smooth and golden as the rest of her body; her hair the same tawny-golden mixed with black the lions mane was. Her brilliant molten gold eyes danced with mirth.

"Please," she replied, "Do you honestly believe that we would miss the opportunity to visit? The other Pantheons have suspected that Enma had been power hungry… we just needed the proof. When we visited here centuries ago; you gave us the proof we wanted. Unfortunately, it wasn't enough back then to confront the bastard. Otherwise I would have had his hide tacked to a wall long before now…" Golden eyes traveled over three demons in ancient looking clothes and armor, "I see the potion worked… good to know…"

"Thank you again for your help…" Kagome said, the smaller of the deities snorted delicately;

"You know her, Taisho…or is it Kagome again?..." Bast asked, then waved her hand dismissively, "You know she's up for anything that causes trouble… worse than humans and demons combined."

"We've now visited you twice," Sekhmet said, "it's now your turn to visit US." Molten feline eyes raked over the demons behind her, "And do bring some of your friends…"

Kagome swallowed hard and let out a shaky laugh as the two goddesses turned. Sekhmet regarded Koenma; "She and her pride are under my protection, boy…. Threaten her again and it won't be Athena who you deal with…I haven't had a decent chew toy in centuries…"

With the threat hanging in the air; the two goddesses disappeared into the shadows. With barely a glance at the group before him; Koenma disappeared. He had far more important things to worry about then an ancient priestess and disobedient Spirit Detectives. The vault had thousands of artifacts in it… and he only had a few weeks if that to get them ready for the representatives of the various pantheons to pick them up!

Silence settled among those left standing; what else could be said? The gorgons were gone; surprisingly so was the garden of statues that they had been standing in.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON!?" InuYasha bellowed; throwing Kouga and Shippo off of him. "WHO THE FUCK WERE ALL THOSE PEOPLE?! AND WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO THE OLD GUY?!"

The rest of the group heaved a collective sigh as the hanyo continued to rant; five hundred years of suppressed energy bubbling to the surface.

Fortunately for all involved; Boton chose that moment to return. With one look at the snarling half-demon; she easily agreed to create a portal to the Makai for them. The sight of a crimson sky startled InuYasha enough to end his rant mid-sentence.

"So…what now?" Kwabara asked. Kagome glanced at her old friends, then toward her new ones.

"I believe, Kwabara," she said, "This is where we part company."

Yusuke flinched at those words, he hadn't thought past the immediate problem the gorgon's presented. Now, after everything was said and done; what were Kagome and her newly awoken friends going to do? Reiki was off their back for the moment; that goddess had pretty much given the demoness immunity.

"Where will you go now?" Kurama asked, echoing Yusuke's own thoughts. Kagome smiled,

"We need to re-unite with our allies… there's a certain wolf-demoness who has been eagerly waiting for her mates return…"

Kouga grinned, his blue eyes sparking with excitement. Kagome turned to Sesshomaru and InuYasha.

"You're both welcome to come with us…." She said.

"Feh…" InuYasha growled.

The elder Lord turned and began walking away; the sight of his retreating back such a familiar sight that for a moment a wave of home-sickness washed over her.

"This Sesshomaru has little use for wolves, priestess," he stated calmly; Kouga snorted at his words, far to use the Lord's jabs to rise to the bait. Besides, he didn't rise to become the Prince of Wolves by being stupid. He was well aware that Sesshomaru was more than capable of pounding him into a messy pile of wolf goo…

"Where will you go?" Kagome asked, the elder Inu-brother regarded her over his shoulder; then began walking away without a word.

"Hey!" Kwabara said, taking several steps forward as if he was going to confront the stoic lord about his rudeness. Shippo caught the ginger-haired man's arm.

"Dude…let it go," he told him.

"But…she asked him a question…." He said, almost seeming to pout.

"We're use to his responses…or lack thereof…" Shippo explained, "He didn't have an answer to give Mother, so he simply said nothing. Sesshomaru isn't one to waste time, even with words. It stopped bothering us a long time ago."

Kagome grinned at her friend's retreating back; Sesshomaru had been nomadic even back in the feudal era… wandering around Makai would suit him perfectly. She almost pitied the kings in the area; should Sesshomaru ever decide to take an interest in ruling the Makai… though she pitied Reiki more. Once Sesshomaru familiarized himself with his new home; he would start planning. Jaken and Rin's deaths would not go unpunished. It wouldn't surprise her in the slightest if he climbed to a position of power, simply to have better access to Reiki and Koenma. Unlike his brother; Sesshomaru was patient. He had centuries after all.

"What are you smiling about?" Hiei asked, coming to stand beside her. She glanced down at the fire demon.

"Makai is in for a treat if he ever decides he wants to rule," she said.

"He can have his shot in a few years when the tournament comes back around," Yusuke said, clasping his hands behind his head. Kagome grinned;

"If he decides he wants it," she said, "He won't wait. It'll be interesting having him wandering around again."

She turned her attention to the silently brooding hanyo. The hot desert air whipped his long hair around his head; his robes billowing in the wind. For a moment she felt the all too familiar ache in her heart as she looked at him. How she had loved that stupid hanyo… as a naïve fourteen year old, his strength and exotic appearance had melted her heart. Yet, despite their friendship and love… he had never been IN love with her. She had always been a reminder of what had been taken from him… his own priestess, Kikyo. He would always be her first love, though.

She walked up to the hanyo; ignoring the way he recoiled at the sight of her. It hurt, she wouldn't lie… but she had five hundred years of experience in dealing with pain.

"What about you, InuYasha…" she asked, "What will you do?"

He folded his hands into his sleeves and glared off to the side; he didn't have a clue what he was going to do.

She reached out and laid a clawed hand on his arm, his reaction was instant;

"Don't touch me!" he snarled, backing away from her, "You reek of Naraku… "

Kagome looked up into blazing golden eyes and sighed; she may have loved him… but it didn't change the fact that he was an ass.

"Sit boy," she said calmly; for the second time that day the Reiki team watched as InuYasha's face met dirt. Kagome reached down and snapped the necklace that held him to the earth. InuYasha jumped to his feet the second the beads power dissipated and glared at her.

"Bitch…" he snarled, tensing as if he was about to lunge at her. Yusuke and Hiei stepped forward; only to be blocked by both Shippo and Kouga.

"That would be unwise, my friend," she said softly; giving InuYasha the same sad understanding smile she always did. That smile, so familiar, made him pause… then only strengthened his resolve. Naraku had somehow managed to corrupt Kagome; it wouldn't have been the first time she had been swayed by the power of a tainted jewel….

Kagome sighed, as she saw her friends golden eyes turn flinty with decision. For the first time in centuries; she allowed the tight control over her power to loosen. Her power pulsed in time with her heartbeat; pinkish miko energy forcing the demons backward, even as the siren song of the jewel called them to her.

InuYasha starred at her with startled eyes; she regarded him calmly. How many times during their travels had he commented on how weak she was? How…not like Kikyo she was?

"It's amazing what happens when I have a complete soul," she said softly, his eyes widened. She smiled softly, "You really didn't believe I could allow Kikyo to continue to wander around with part of my soul did you? Honestly? How long did you expect me to suffer because you couldn't let go?"

She shook her head, "Go… go do whatever it is you were doing before you met Kikyo and was bound to that damn tree;" she said, eyes matching his in ire for a moment, "Once you get your head out of your ass, then come find me and we can talk. 'Til then…go away…"

InuYasha glared at her; his pride demanded that he avenge Kikyo and Kagome… yet common sense told him to leave. For the first time in his life he listened to common sense, rather than his pride.

Kagome turned and walked back toward Kouga and Shippo; not even bothering to watch InuYasha disappear into the forest behind her. Irritating hanyo. Stubborn as a mule too.

Shippo listened to his mother mutter insults under her breath; he knew later, she would cry over the pain his rejection had caused and mourn his loss. Yet, now, she took a deep breath and regarded both her son and dearest friend.

She looked over at the Reiki team and gave them a brilliant smile; "Thank you for your help…. And for the support. For what it's worth…" she said, meeting and holding a certain detectives eyes, "I apologize for getting you all involved. I'm grateful for your help." She glanced down at Hiei, "See you around, Hiei…"

Then the three were gone; only a dust trail indicated their direction. Yusuke glared out at the desert; the case was over, technically they had won…. So why the hell did he feel so blasted lousy? It didn't help that Hiei had a smirk across his face and looked far more content then the detective had ever seen him.

"Can we go home now?" Kwabara whined, "I'm starving!"

**I'll hopefully have the epilogue ready to publish Thursday. I hope you enjoy... REVIEW!**


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don't own IY or YYH.

A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews! I love 'em. A few notes for a couple specific reviews:

D- Eeep... I completly forgot about Mayu. *sigh* Like I said before, sometimes you forget the little details. I tried to go back and fix that... but the chapter just didn't want to work. So for the sake of this story, lets pretend that Kags couldn't see her friends spirits even though you're right... as a miko she should have been able too. Ooops. -_-'

Kristina. : I'll try for a Kag/Kur fic... dunno thou... there are ton and tons of those fics and I like to think of it as my duty to add more Yusuke and Hiei centeric fics to try and even the scales out. LOL. I love the fox as much as the next person though, so I'll see if I can't come up with something in the non to distant future.

Thanks again to everyone who reviewed! You have no idea how much I appreciate it! THank you thank you thank you!

Now... On with the fic!

Hell Hath No Fury

Epilogue:

Yusuke glared at the low level demon in annoyance. Stupid thing didn't even give him a decent workout; much less work of the irritation that seemed to have sunk its claws into him lately and refused to let go. Well, if he was honest with himself, it wasn't irritation that had sunk its claws into him… it was depression. The irritation was a direct result of the depression…. Which was a direct result to the fact that he was god awful lonely…

He didn't even know why he was lonely. Hell, it wasn't as if he lacked for company… Kwabara had taken to crashing at his apartment whenever he had to work late…which was often. He also met up with Kurama for lunch twice a week… and he would go over to Genkai's to spar. So there was absolutely no reason what so ever for him to be lonely.

Not one… Zero. Ziltch.

He sighed, who the hell was he kidding? It wasn't company he was lacking… his friends were always there for him. Yet, they all had their own lives. Both Kurama and Kwabara had jobs and were going to school. Yusuke… didn't have shit. He had tried to get a job; but the sheer monotony of it about drove him insane. How do people do it? How could they go and do the same thing every damn day? He simply couldn't stand to do something that he didn't enjoy every day… his temperament simply would not allow it. So what did that leave him? Nothing. Not a bloody thing.

The only thing that ever made him feel whole was fighting… yet...lately, even that didn't soothe him. He was unhappy and he wasn't sure why.

Ok, that was a lie. He knew exactly why…he just didn't want to admit that a pair of pale crystalline blue eyes haunted him. He had only known the demoness a few days; but somehow she had managed to make a lasting impression.

"Moping doesn't suit you, detective," a dry voice stated from the tree branch above him.

"Shove it, Hiei," he growled, not in the mood to verbally spare with the fire apparition.

"She's going to be meeting her family this weekend," he said casually. Yusuke froze, and looked at his friend.

"Who?"

"You know who," Hiei replied, "A certain pale eyed demoness you let walk away."

"I didn't 'let' her do anything!" Yusuke growled, "Besides, she had the fox and wolf…"

"Her son and brother in arms," Hiei stated, "Next excuse."

"What the hell are you doing here anyway?" Yusuke demanded, "I thought you returned to the Makai?"

"I did…" he said, "Koenma and Reiki are far too busy going through all the junk in that vault of theirs to pay much attention to the barriers lately. So I came here to see if I can jump start that grey matter you call a brain into gear. I don't enjoy seeing Kagome looking so…dejected."

Yusuke blinked in surprise; the demoness had to be wearing off on him that was the longest he had ever heard Hiei talk in….he didn't know how long.

Wait…

"You saw Kagome?" he demanded. Hiei smirked.

"On a regular basis," he said, "After she took the wolf back to his pack, she and the fox returned to their home. They visit the Makai every weekend. Mukuro has decided that having strong relations with the wolves is wise. She and the Alpha's have been in negotiations for the last few weeks on an alliance."

"Alliance?" Yusuke muttered, "Damn… as if Mukuro needs any more power…"

Hiei shrugged; "She wants to make sure that no one attacks her… seems word has gotten out that a very powerful S-class had been seen wandering the lands," he smirked, "The news has gotten all of the kings riled."

"And you're loving it aren't you?"

Another shrug, "Keeps life interesting."

"Interesting… right…" Yusuke muttered, heaving another sigh. "Interesting would be welcomed…"

Hiei wanted to growl as the detective's shoulders slumped and he seemed to withdraw into himself again. Kagome had been the same way for weeks; only she hid it a lot better than the detective. He could tell the detective had lost weight in the few months since they had parted ways. Kurama AND Kwabara had mentioned Yusuke's lack of interest in anything. The detective was fading… and if things continued, eventually a demon could die of such things. Kagome had been far too busy for the depression to affect her like it did the detective. They kept her too busy. Still, he could see the depression and loneliness haunt her eyes whenever she thought she was alone.

Shippo and even Kouga had told him to leave it alone, and it wasn't his business. Kagome had had enough people meddling in her love life five hundred years ago, she didn't need 'help', they said. Still, something needed to be done; especially since neither party seemed to want to DO anything about said situation...and Hiei wasn't a patient demon by any stretch of the imagination...

Yusuke heard the soft hiss of steel leaving its sheath; he started to turn to see why… only to see Hiei disappear. His mind, tired and groggy from the depression and lack of sleep; was slow tracking the demon. Too, slow.

"This is for your own good," Hiei stated, behind him; then there was a sharp pain at the back of his skull…and darkness claimed him.

Kagome idly tapped her pen against her desk as she starred out of her classroom window. She was depressed. She recognized the symptoms of the ailment well enough to know that she was seriously depressed. Fact of the matter was she was lonely. No matter how much Kouga and Shippo had tried to cheer her up; as soon as they left she would slip back into the depression. Even the reaper Boton had come by trying to cheer her up with a present.

Kagome glanced behind her and smiled… It seemed that while Reiki was cleaning and organizing its vault, a certain blue-haired reaper had 'found' a staff that didn't belong to any of the other pantheons. She had decided to bring it to Kagome; since it was obvious that it didn't belong to them. She reached out and pulled the staff to her; enjoying the soft jingle of the rings around the top. She stroked the smooth wood lovingly; her mind drifting back to a time long, long ago; sitting around a campfire, her kit snuggled in her lap, her sister next to her silently oiling her massive weapon, her best friend softly snoring above them in the trees, and a certain blue-eyed monk sitting, arms crossed, staff tucked against his shoulder, head bowed… quietly watching the taijiya as she worked. If she concentrated on the staff before her; she could still feel the soft hum of her friend's holy energy.

Gods above, how she missed them.

Freeing them from their imprisonment didn't do anything for the ache their absence left behind. If she was brutally honest with herself; it wasn't really them that she missed. She had long ago mourned her friend's loss. Now though… she missed the…the feeling of BELONGING that she had experienced with them; back then, even when they weren't together she always knew they were there. . They had laughed together, fought together, bled together and cried together. They were her family, her pack. She missed having that familiarity with someone. True she had Shippo and to an extent Kouga… but it was more than that…. She was just so… tired of being alone. Even surrounded by her friends and allies in the Makai… she was still alone. She didn't just want to _belong_ in general; she wanted to **BELONG** to someone. Someone who only saw her; not a copy, not a priestess, not the guardian of the jewel…Someone who saw her and wanted her _JUST_ for her… Just as Kagome…

She sighed and shook herself; she could feel a certain fire apparition's energy approaching and if he caught her moping again he'd tell the others… And they would try and cheer her up again. She loved her friends, she did… but sometimes she really wished they would just leave her the hell alone.

She could sense Hiei above her on the roof; almost direct above her. However, there was another energy there too; so familiar…. And approaching rapidly.

What the hell?

Suddenly something dark went plummeting by her window and seconds later she heard a soft THWUMP as whatever it was hit the ground in an undignified heap. Startled, Kagome rushed to the window and threw it open…

Vicious swearing met her ears as one extremely rumpled, seriously pissed off ex-spirit detective glared up at where Hiei had been moments before; Kagome was pretty sure that whatever Yusuke had just suggested the apparition could go do…wasn't physically possible….

Able to clearly see that, despite the three story fall, the detective was reasonably unharmed; Kagome couldn't hold her mirth at bay any longer.

Soft snickering drew Yusuke's attention away from cursing his supposed "friend"; what sort of friend knocks a guy unconscious then tosses him unceremoniously off a three story building? He turned to glare at the idiot who had the balls to laugh at him, intent on beating the unholy hell out of them… only to freeze at the sight of laughing pale crystalline eyes that had haunted him for the last two months.

"Yusuke…are you alright?" Kagome asked, once she got herself under control enough to speak. The taller man glowered at her as he stood and dusted off his back end; his pride still stinging something fierce.

"Fine…" he growled, "Wonderful…peachy… everyone likes getting tossed off a building… Stupid fire midget… wait until I catch up to him…. I'll make him eat that sword of his…. Knock me out with it will he…."

Kagome smiled as his grumblings got darker and less intelligent. Why on earth had Hiei decided to apparently knock Yusuke out and then drop him off the University roof, right next to her window….

Suddenly a little light bulb went off in her head and she too was softly cursing the fire apparition.

"Stupid, meddlesome, arrogant demons…. Can't ever keep their nose outa someone else's business…."

Yusuke glanced up as he realized he was not the only one cursing Hiei's name. Kagome stomped back towards her desk, only to stomp back to the window and glare at him.

Somewhat calmer now, Yusuke found himself raising his eyebrow and giving her an amused smirk as she fumed.

"Oh shut it Urameshi!" she snapped as a black stapler suddenly came sailing towards his head.

Laughing, he caught the projectile; he leapt easily through the window and set the stapler on the desk. He watched her as she muttered darkly; he almost felt sorry for the smaller demon. Almost.

He had to admit though; he loved seeing that spark in her eyes whenever she was irritated. It seemed to make her eyes glow and her whole spirit seemed to come alive. Her energy sparked and spat like a blown electrical transmitter.

Gods she was beautiful…

"W-What?" she said, white streaked head whipping around to look at him with wide pale eyes. Yusuke felt his heart skip a beat. He really hadn't said that out loud had he?

"N-nuthin'…" he said, suddenly feeling like an awkward teenager trying to speak to his crush. He let out a breathy, embarrassed laugh; his hand going to the back of his head from habit. Kagome just continued to stare at him; a multitude of emotions flashing through her pale eyes.

Uneasy, and wanting desperately to end the suddenly very awkward silence; Yusuke scoured his brain for a different topic.

"So…." He said, "Long time no see…. Um… whatcha been up to?"

Kagome blinked, her normal pleasant façade sliding back into place with practiced ease; Yusuke wanted to glower at her again. What was with her and that stupid mask? Did all demons have some sort of mask they developed after a certain number of years?

Kagome blinked at him in surprised and once again; Yusuke realized that he had somehow blurted out his thoughts. He wanted to bang his head against the wall… seriously where the hell did his brain-to-mouth filter go?

"Actually…yes…" Kagome replied, puzzled by his sudden outburst, "Most demons adopt some sort of stoic façade. It's a means of protection. If you allow your emotions to be clearly read… then anyone who cares to look can use them against you. Most demons don't care to give that sort of power to their opponent."

Yusuke snorted, crossing his arms across his chest, a faint blush staining his cheeks;

"We'll I ain't your opponent," he muttered, "So knock it off. I like the other Kagome a lot better…"

Kagome smiled at him, her face suddenly growing warm.

"Yea…well…" she muttered, as she started packing all of her school working into her bag, "You'd be the only one really."

Yusuke blinked for a moment, stunned at her words; "Huh?" he replied intelligently.

"It's nothing," she replied, "Don't worry about it…"

"Bullshit," he snapped, grabbing her arm as she tried to walk away, "I may not be the brightest bulb… but that wasn't an 'it's nothing' comment…."

"Detective…"

"Oh so we're back to titles now are we, Professor…."

"Fine..." she growled, letting out an aggravated sigh, "Yusuke… it's nothing you need to concern yourself with, okay? Just leave it alone."

"Like Hell…" he growled, "Ask around, I don't ever leave things alone…so spill or I'll keep at it 'til you do…"

She glared at him; it was an impressive glare, he had to admit. It promised an excruciatingly slow and torturous death; anyone else would have taken the hint and went screaming for the hills. However, Yusuke had already died twice…. And he had a high tolerance for pain… some claimed he was a bit masochistic. Besides, he had spent the last several years being glared at on a regular basis by Hiei… So, while extremely good… he liked to think that he was rather immune to death glares in general.

"Not gonna work princess," he replied with a cocky smirk, "I've been around Hiei too long for glares to be overly effective against me."

"Princess?" Kagome said, her eyes snapping with pale fire; Yusuke felt his mouth go dry.

"Yea…" he muttered, as she leaned closer, invading his personal space. His heart hammered in his chest. Warning bells were going off in his head; yet he couldn't seem to move. Her scent enveloped him, filling his head with the scent of fresh spring rain and lavender fields.

"I'm not a princess," she whispered, her breath caressing his neck making him shudder. "I don't need saving," she continued. He didn't notice that she shifted her body; all he seemed to be able to concentrate on was the warm hand on his chest that seemed to be burning him through his shirt. She shoved against his chest, startled he stumbled back; his leg catching against hers. He toppled to the floor; the air leaving his chest in a giant whoosh as he hit the ground.

"I'm a queen," she replied starring down at him with a vicious, triumphant smirk on her face, "I've got this shit handled."

Then she was moving past him, out the door, and down the hall.

"Son of a bitch," Yusuke said, coming out of his daze a few seconds later. He couldn't believe she had just done that…. A grin spread across his face as he scrambled to his feet. Oh she was going to pay for that…

Kagome broke into a sprint as she felt Yusuke's energy approaching rapidly from the school. She shouldered her bag and felt a grin spread across her own face as the wind whipped by. Joy bubbled up from her chest and she couldn't help but let out a whoop of laughter as her pursuer gained on her. It wasn't long before Yusuke was within sight and closing. By now they had raced through the downtown district and were at the edge of a wide open park. She slid to a stop near one of the fountains; Yusuke slide to a stop a few yards away.

"You're going to pay for that trick, Professor," Yusuke growled, his dark eyes shining with a predatory light. Kagome grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulder.

"Have to catch me first Detective," she laughed, "Then we'll see who pays what…"

Yusuke felt a low growl rumble deep in his chest; possessive in its intensity. The Professor stood casually on the edge of the fountain rim; her pale eyes sparkling with more laughter then he had ever seen in the short time he had known her. He suddenly felt his chest well with pride; he had done that. He had made her laugh; not Shippo, not Hiei, not the wolf… HIM. She gave him a sly, flirtatious smile; her salt and pepper hair swirling about her in the air. The braid had come loose during their run already; now it swirled and danced around her petite frame making her look wild and untamable.

Her lips curled into a slow, sensuous smile and she crooked a clawed finger at him.

"Catch me if you can, Detective," she purred in challenge; then she was gone, a mere blur within the trees. Yusuke leapt after her; intent on catching his prey. His mind forgot the conversation they were having before her trick, it forgot the wound to his pride, and he forgot why he had ever been depressed…. The only thing that matter now was the flash of white through the darkening trees and the scent of lavender and rain. She too, forgot her loneliness, her sadness; everything faded to the background in the rush of wind through her hair, the warm burn of her muscles, and the feel of the electric energy behind her. She laughed at the thrill of it all; a sound echoed by the male hot on her heels. Soon, she might let him catch her; the thought of it made her shudder in anticipation. Sensing her arousal; he put on another burst of speed, gaining ground. His entire focus had narrowed down to one single figure flitting through the trees in front of him; teasing him with her scent.

He had wanted her from the moment he saw her months ago, the dance had reinforced it, seeing her around the wolf and hanyo had solidified it… she was his… and what Yusuke Urameshi wanted; he always got. She would resist; she was stubborn and had been hurt to many times to make trust easy. Yet, he was persistent; he would win her, claim her and hold her dear for the rest of their ridiculously long lives.

Neither understood this at the moment though; there was no room to think during the chase. Those things would come later. Right that moment; only the wind singing past their faces, the earth beneath their feet, and the hunt was what mattered.

Everything else could wait…

At the edge of the park, two figures perched delicately on a high tree branch; gazing out into the forest beyond. Identical smirks of satisfaction on their faces.

"He caught her," one said, crimson eyes opening to regard forest green.

"She let him," he countered with a grin.

"And you said they didn't need help," the smaller of the two replied.

"Alright, so maybe they needed a little push…" the other agreed, "But did you really have to knock him out and literally drop him in her lap?"

"Hn..." he replied, "It worked didn't it?"

The End

**Yay done! Whoohoo... I hope you enjoyed the last chapter of Hell Hath No Fury. It didn't turn out how I planned...I had intended for her to visit her human family now that enough time had passed and Reiki wasn't after her...but somewhere after the third line the characters grabbed the story and said 'no THIS is how we want it to end'. Thank you again for reading! I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Don't forget REVIEWS! Now... off to work some more on Call of the Dragon... before I have a revolt... LOL.**


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